Now that the Supreme Court has upheld most of President Obamas health care law, U.S. businesses by and large appear skeptical about Republican attempts to repeal the law and are rushing to comply with it, surveys show. <\/p>\n
While the political drama over the law is far from over, businesses face significant penalties if they fail to comply with its mandates, including providing health care coverage to all full-time employees starting in 2014. <\/p>\n
A survey by Mercer, a human resources consulting agency, immediately after the Supreme Courts June 28 ruling found that the majority of businesses had been waiting until the court acted before complying with the law. <\/p>\n
After the high courts affirmation, the majority of businesses surveyed said they would start setting up systems for carrying out the mandate and other health reforms, with only 16 percent saying they will wait until after the November elections to see whether Republicans make any headway with their drive to repeal the law, Mercer said. <\/p>\n
Mercer and other health care groups are advising businesses not to wait. <\/p>\n
\"Although the law still faces a contentious political outlook, employers should stay on track in their efforts to comply with the law as enacted or else they may face penalties,\" said David Rahill, head of Mercers health benefits division. <\/p>\n
Many economists hoped the high courts decision would remove one of the major uncertainties that they believe have caused businesses to hesitate about hiring people this year. Providing health insurance to a typical employee costs an average of more than $10,000 a year, so it is a significant expense, especially for companies that employ mostly low-wage workers. <\/p>\n
\"The ruling eliminates one source of uncertainty,\" said Nigel Gault, an economist at IHS Global Insight. But, he said, Republican attempts to repeal the law and obstruct its implementation are inserting a new element of uncertainty into business planning. <\/p>\n
The House passed a repeal bill by a mostly party-line vote last week, but the bill is not expected to advance in the Senate this year. For Congress to enact a repeal bill next year, Republicans would not only have to maintain control of the House, they would have to gain control of the Senate and the White House -- a scenario that is not given high odds by most political analysts. <\/p>\n
Mercer said businesses will have to act quickly to implement new requirements that go into effect this year and next to provide benefit summaries to their employees, limit the size of flexible health-care accounts and increase withholding of Medicare taxes from high-income earners. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Employers work on health mandate<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Now that the Supreme Court has upheld most of President Obamas health care law, U.S. businesses by and large appear skeptical about Republican attempts to repeal the law and are rushing to comply with it, surveys show. While the political drama over the law is far from over, businesses face significant penalties if they fail to comply with its mandates, including providing health care coverage to all full-time employees starting in 2014 Continue reading