Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson today supported two bills that would delay implementation of two of the most controversial provisions of Obamacare that are scheduled to come into effect in January 2014.  Both passed in the House of Representatives.

The first, H.R. 2667, the Authority for Mandate Delay Act, would codify a previous declaration in a blog post by the Obama Administration to delay the requirement that employers who employ more than 50 people full time provide minimum essential healthcare coverage or pay a fine.  In agreeing to delay it, President Obama has declared that this portion of Obamacare is not ready for implementation and would have a negative effect on a fragile job market.

The House also passed H.R. 2668, the Fairness for American Families Act, which delays the much maligned individual health insurance mandate for one year. The Obama Administration and the business community both agree that the employee mandate should be delayed, so it is only fair to extend that same relief to all Americans.

“The Obama Administration and the business community, not to mention the House of Representatives, all agree we should delay the employer health insurance mandate,” said Simpson. “But we should also give some breathing room to American families by delaying the individual mandate. Americans are about to see their insurance premiums increase 100% on average with some studies predicting increases of as much as 400%.”

Under the individual mandate, if Americans do not purchase a health insurance plan through an exchange, receive insurance through Medicaid, or receive employer sponsored coverage, they are subject to a new tax.  To compound the problem, it is expected that millions of Americans will lose their previous employer based coverage as a result of the new mandates, and many will then be forced to either pay more for their own insurance plan, or pay the new tax.

Both bills now move to the U.S. Senate for consideration.