In what appears to be becoming a theme, the government will postpone an additional provision of the Affordable Care Act that was originally scheduled to go fully into effect on January 1, 2014.
According to the Labor Department, the component of the healthcare law that would put a cap on out-of-pocket expenses for consumers will be put on hold until January 2015 at the earliest. This means that for the time being, health insurers will be able to charge what they've been billing for. One of the protections built into the health reform law was that insurers wouldn't be able to raise premiums more than a certain level, which for individuals was placed at $6,350 per year and for a family of four is $12,700, including co-payments and deductibles.
Utah Sen. Mike Lee told CNBC.com that this is a move that could very well wind up hurting consumers in both the short and long-term.
"This is very cynical and shameless what the administration is doing here," said Lee. "To amend the statute you're supposed to be required to get legislation, and they didn't do that."
Avik Roy, a senior fellow at the policy think tank Manhattan Institute, added that the current administration is exhibiting a pattern of tinkering with the ACA and doing so in a way that may run counter to what's lawful.
"I don't know if they have the legal authority, and I doubt they do," said Roy.
This is the latest in a long line of deferrals that the government has effectuated over the past several months, including the postponement of the employee benefits provision as well as delaying the eligibility requirements insurers would be obligated to honor under the ACA. According to the Congressional Research Service, approximately one-third of the deadlines have been either missed or rescheduled since November 2011.
