(NationalMonitor) = Looking for a New Year’s resolution? Maybe it should be to sign up for Obamacare, Vice President Joe Biden said while filling in for President Obama in the White House’s weekly radio address this week.
In an effort to boost enrollment of the Affordable Care Act, the White House is trying to get people to sign up for health insurance with just weeks to go before the enrollment deadline, according to the Washington Times.
Noting that this is the typical time of year for New Year’s resolutions, Biden suggested that, rather than focus merely on long-term goals like getting healthier, one should also do something “right now that will also make a big difference in your health” — sign up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.
Biden noted that enrollment numbers are rising and medicare benefits were generous under the act. Also, the cost would be lower, he argued.
He said the act, which has been under siege by Republicans lately, has been working, and “we’re just getting started because there are millions more of you who can get quality and affordable health insurance” if people sign up by the Feb. 15 deadline.
The employer healthcare mandate took effect on the first day of the year, which requires companies that have more than 100 full-time workers to offer affordable health insurance to at least 70 percent of their staff, or they could get hit with a stiff penalty.
It was originally supposed to take effect in 2014, but it was delayed a year. It will cost companies $174 per month per full-time employee — minus 80 employees — that do not comply. The act will further penalize employers $261 per month for each employee if it provides insurance that is not considered affordable or comprehensive.
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