New Measure Ends Requirement for Firms to Automatically Enroll Employees
This week, President Obama signed into law a bipartisan budget package that included AGC of America-backed legislation to eliminate the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) mandatory automatic enrollment provision. The mandatory automatic enrollment provision would have required employers with more than 200 full-time employees to automatically enroll employees into coverage if an employee did not voluntarily chose or decline a plan. As AGC CEO Stephen Sandherr noted, the "new measure protects countless construction workers from being forced to pay deductions for health insurance they may not need or cannot afford."
Doing away with the automatic enrollment provision has been among AGC of America's top legislative priority since the Affordable Care Act was enacted. During that time, AGC staff and members participated in meetings with House and Senate members, congressional leadership, and committees of jurisdiction on both sides of the Capitol and both sides of the aisle; and coordinated with a broad business coalition named the E-FLEX Coalition. Moving forward, the association will continue to push for additional reforms to make sure construction workers have access to high quality, affordable health care, Sandherr added.