House Approves Bill Exempting Certain Employees From ACA Threshold

As expected, the 114th Congress began its term by attacking provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). On Tuesday, the House of Representatives voted unanimously in favor of the Hire More Heroes Act of 2015 (H.R. 22), a bill that would exempt employees covered under TRICARE or other health insurance provided by the Veterans Administration from being counted toward the Affordable Care Act's 50-employee employer mandate threshold. Under the healthcare law's employer responsibility requirements, an employer with at least 100 full-time employees (including full-time equivalent employees) will be required to provide health insurance that meets certain ACA standards to their full-time employees starting in 2015, or pay a penalty. For employers with 50 to 100 full-time employees, this pay-or-play employer mandate becomes effective in 2016. Employees falling under the categories specified in the Hire More Heroes Act would not count toward these thresholds.  Given the