Delay stirs broader worries about Obama health law

The sudden delay of a major part of President Barack Obama’s historic health care overhaul is raising questions about other potential problems lurking in the homestretch.

The requirement that many employers provide coverage is just one part of a complex law. But its one-year postponement has taken administration allies and adversaries alike by surprise.

White House officials said Wednesday that the delay was firm and won’t be extended after a year — and that the overhaul will still be fully implemented by the time Obama leaves office. But the officials, who were not authorized to discuss internal deliberations on the record and spoke only on condition of anonymity, wouldn’t rule out delays or tweaks to other provisions.

The White House action means some companies that would have offered health insurance next year to avoid fines will not do so now. They’re mainly firms with many low-wage workers, such as restaurants, hotels and temporary staffing companies. The workers, however, will still be able to get coverage. Many may qualify for subsidized insurance through new marketplaces to debut Oct. 1, less than three months away.

The fact that problems are popping up at this late stage could be a sign of additional troublesome issues ahead. It underscores a recent warning by the Government Accountability Office that the “timely and smooth” rollout of the new insurance markets can’t be guaranteed, partly because much of the technology to run them hasn’t been fully tested.

The timing of the announcement was also widely mentioned.

“It’s understandable that when you announce a change in the law just before the Fourth of July holiday, it raises questions,” said Drew Altman, president of the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. “Critics will jump on it and use it as more ammunition against the law.” The foundation is a research group that has closely followed the evolution of the health law since it was signed in 2010.

The development was seen as noteworthy by both critics and allies of the new law.

“We are concerned that the delay further erodes the coverage that was envisioned,” said Rich Umbdenstock, president of the American Hospital Association, which has supported the Affordable Care Act.

Former HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt says the administration may have come to a point where officials realize they can’t get everything to line up the way it was envisioned in the highly complicated legislation, and they’ll start to delay, change or jettison parts of it.

“The administration is clearly feeling disruptive vibrations and realizes too many things are happening at once,” said Leavitt, who oversaw the initially chaotic launch of the Medicare prescription drug benefit for President George W. Bush. They are “wisely seeking to reorder priorities,” he added.

Leavitt said he sees the delay of the employer requirement as a win-win. On a practical level, it gives employers and government regulators more time to work out difficult issues, and politically the administration appears reasonable by listening to critics at the risk of being criticized by others for the delay. Democrats running for congressional seats next year are probably thankful the issue may be muted.