ACA Employer Mandate Delay Subject of House Lawsuit

Author: Ashley Shaw, XpertHR Legal Editor

December 2, 2014

The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives filed a lawsuit against the US Departments of Treasury and of Health and Human Services, and their respective secretaries, because of alleged unconstitutional actions taken by President Obama regarding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). If the lawsuit succeeds, it could eradicate the delay that has been granted by the executive branch in implementing the employer shared responsibility provisions (commonly referred to as the employer mandate or the pay or play mandate) of the ACA.

The suit alleges that the president has overstepped his powers in the way that parts of the ACA will be paid for and enforced. With respect to enforcement, the suit questions the decision to delay implementation of the employer mandate.

The complaint also alleges that the administration is using funds from a Treasury Department account that was meant for other purposes. Specifically, this fund will pay insurers $178 billion over the next 10 years as part of the cost-sharing initiative portion of the ACA. However, the suit alleges that the payments will involve unlawful transfers of government funds.

The House voted on authorizing the lawsuit last July, and the vote passed without a single Democrat's support.

Speaker John Boehner said in a press release on the suit, "Time after time, the president has chosen to ignore the will of the American people and re-write federal law on his own without a vote of Congress. That's not the way our system of government was designed to work." The House brought the suit without sending it to the Senate.