Gibbs, Hillary Question Survival of Obamacare Employer Mandate

Two former members of the Obama administration, Robert Gibbs and Hillary Clinton,  question whether the Obamacare employer mandate will become a reality.

Gibbs, former White House press secretary, predicted while speaking in Colorado Wednesday that the employer mandate won't survive longterm and that getting rid of it would improve the law, BenefitsPro.com reported.

ObamaCare: You Can Win With The Facts

"I don't think the employer mandate will go into effect," Gibbs said. "It's a small part of the law. I think it will be one of the first things to go."

In February, President Barack Obama issued his second delay of the employer mandate, saying that small businesses with 50 to 99 employees now have until Jan. 1, 2016, to provide health coverage for their employees.

Business with 100 or more employees have to provide health insurance to their employees or face a $2,000 fine per worker after the first 30.

Gibbs also recommended other changes to the law, which he said would be "common-sense" improvements including an improved outreach program about Obamacare deadlines, penalties and subsidies; better technology; and other incentives to enroll besides having to pay a penalty.

In addition, "healthcare has to add an additional layer of coverage cheaper than the plans already offered," Gibbs added.

According to The Hill, Former Secretary of State Clinton has also expressed concerns about the employer mandate and particularly if it will push employers to move "people from full-time work to part-time work to try to avoid contributing to their healthcare."

While she said that she supports the new healthcare law, she also said that "if things aren't working, then we need to be people of good faith and come together and make evidence-based changes." Clinton leads poll among possible 2016 Democratic presidential candidates.

ObamaCare: You Can Win With The Facts

Businesses claim that the mandate will hurt their businesses and that they will have to offset costs by the raising prices on their products.

Eighteen House Democrats joined Republicans Thursday to pass a bill that would change the definition of full-time work in Obamacare from 30 hours a week to 40 hours a week.

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