As you’ve no doubt heard by now, the U.S. Supreme Court released its historic decision on the Affordable Care Act and has upheld the act.
The SCOTUSblog has been doing a masterful job at recapping the decision here.
With the Court ruling that the mandate survives, the main provisions of the bill will start to take effect in 2014. Connecticut has already has a staff and board to implement health care exchanges by the deadline.
For employers, the result is a lot less messy than if part or all of the law had been struck down. In very simple terms, everyone is going to be covered by insurance and your health plans are going to be subject to more regulation, the details of which are still being determined. The Court’s ruling in essence says that the government can mandate that people get insurance or be taxed if they don’t.
And for employers, companies with more than 50 workers will have to pay penalties (starting at $2,000 per employee) if they don’t offer a set level of health benefits.
The decision is a complicated one and I’m going to take some time to read it for further implications for Connecticut employers. Until then, you can read the decision for yourself here.