Massachusetts set to repeal employer healthcare mandate

{mosads}Massachusetts’s mandate is stricter than the federal version, and the state has planned to repeal its coverage requirement, leaving only the federal mandate in place.

But the Obama administration announced last week that it had delayed the employer mandate by a year, prompting some advocates to argue that Massachusetts should leave its mandate in place.

Patrick said that’s not necessary, and that he will still support repeal.

“I think as long as the federal mandate isn’t delayed beyond that one year, we’ll be fine,” Patrick said, according to the Globe. “Experience taught us that, here in the Commonwealth at least, employers aren’t deciding to offer health insurance to their employees on account of the mandate. It’s because the programs make sense and they work.”