The Unanticipated Consequences of Postponing the Employer Mandate

According to a report published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Obama Administration’s decision to postpone implementation of the employer mandate may create a large ripple effect. The authors note that although postponing the employer mandate has minimal effects on the number of uninsured individuals, this postponement affects other provisions, particularly the individual subsidies for purchasing insurance, and may create distorted incentives that can leave the federal government paying more than planned.