The House Committee on Education and the Workforce has approved for further action a proposal introduced by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-Willsboro) to repeal the “auto-enrollment mandate” under the Affordable Care Act.

This proposal comes from her legislation, the Be Open Act.

“This simply repeals an unnecessary and duplicative part of the Affordable Care Act that reduces choice in health coverage and creates confusion that can lead to significant tax penalties on both the employee and employer,” said Stefanik. “I am pleased the Committee has included this important fix in our budget reconciliation passage, and I hope it is passed quickly by the Senate and sent to the President’s desk.”

The proposal would repeal Section 1511 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, known as the “auto-enrollment mandate.” This mandate requires employers with 200 or more full-time employees to automatically enroll new full-time employees into employer-sponsored health care coverage if the employee fails to choose another employer plan or decline coverage. Concerns have been raised that the mandate will create unnecessary confusion for workers and employers and result in penalties for those already enrolled in health insurance coverage.

Stefanik’s proposal to repeal the mandate was passed by the Education and Workforce Committee and added to the reconciliation proposal by a vote of 22 to 15.