(CNN)–The requirement that businesses provide their workers with health insurance or face fines – a key provision contained in President Barack Obama’s health care law – will be delayed by one year, the Treasury Department said Tuesday.
The postponement came after business owners expressed concerns about the complexity of the law’s reporting requirements, the agency said in its announcement. Under the Affordable Care Act, businesses employing 50 or more full-time workers that don’t provide them health insurance will be penalized.
Mark J. Mazur, assistant secretary for tax policy said the extra year before the requirement goes into effect will allow the government time to assess ways to simplify the reporting process for businesses. Penalties for firms not providing health coverage to employees will now begin in 2015 after next year’s congressional elections.
The new delay will not affect other aspects of the health law, including the establishment of exchanges in states for low-income Americans to obtain health insurance.
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