WASHINGTON (Feb. 16, 2012) — A provision in the healthcare reform law that requires employers with more than 200 employees to automatically enroll new employees in one of their healthcare plans will not go into effect until 2014, federal regulators said.
In guidance released last week by the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Internal Revenue Service, the agencies said the requirement will not go into effect until regulations are issued.
Separately, the Labor Department affirmed its earlier guidance that the automatic enrollment rules won't be ready until 2014.
“In view of the need for coordinated guidance and a smooth implementation process, including an applicability date that gives employers sufficient time to comply, the Department of Labor has concluded that its automatic enrollment guidance will not be ready to take effect by 2014,” the agency said in a statement.
The statutory automatic enrollment provision, unlike many others in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, itself does not stipulate an effective date. Under the law, employers are required to notify employees about automatic enrollment and to give them an opportunity to opt out of a plan in which they were automatically enrolled.
This report appeared in Business Insurance magazine, a Chicago-based sister publication of Tire Business.