Obama: Latest employer mandate delay is method of 'smoothing out' health law transition

Feb 13 2014

President Barack Obama also said Tuesday during a joint press conference with French President Francois Hollande that he doesn't see the employer-based health insurance system disappearing.

The Associated Press/Washington Post: Obama Doesn't Want Health Law To Punish
President Barack Obama says he's giving mid-size businesses more time to comply with his health care law because the goal is not to punish anyone. Obama says the companies are trying to get right with the law and provide insurance for their employees. But they need more time to meet their responsibility (2/11).

Los Angeles Times: Obama Says Latest Delay Is 'Smoothing Out' Shift To New Health Law
President Obama said Tuesday the latest delay in implementing his healthcare law is an example of "smoothing out this transition" for a small group of midsize businesses struggling to meet the requirement that they provide health insurance to their employees (Hennessey, 2/11).

Politico: Obama: Employer-Based Health Insurance System Not Going Anywhere
President Barack Obama on Tuesday described the latest delay in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act as a way of "smoothing out' the transition to the law and said he doesn't see the employer-based health insurance system disappearing any time soon. "The goal is to make sure folks are healthy and have decent health care, so this was an example of administratively making sure we are smoothing out this transition giving people the opportunity to get right with the law but recognizing there are going to be circumstances people try to do the right thing and it may take time," Obama said at a wide-ranging joint press conference with French President Francois Hollande (Epstein, 2/11).

Bloomberg: Health-Care Delay Gives Time For Optimal Policy: Obama
President Barack Obama said a delay until 2016 in his health care mandate for mid-sized employers is an adjustment that doesn't undermine the law. ... Employers with fewer than 100 workers won't have to provide health insurance until 2016 under Obamacare, while larger firms have to cover at least 70 percent of the workforce starting next year, the Internal Revenue Service said in a rule issued yesterday (Mattingly and Wayne, 2/11).

The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire: Top White House Aide Defends Health Law Delay
A top White House aide defended the Obama administration's latest decision to delay a part of the Affordable Care Act's implementation, saying Tuesday that policy makers were trying to create a "smoother transition" for businesses. Gene Sperling, director of the White House's National Economic Council, also blasted Republicans for criticizing the administration's decision Monday to give many small businesses additional time to comply with parts of the law (Paletta, 2/11).