What makes sense about Obamacare?
At the moment, from what we're observing, not much.
The main purpose of Obamacare, according to politicians, is to make sure that the 50 million uninsured Americans are able to have access to affordable insurance and quality care.
But in order to do this, the federal government is putting an inordinate burden on business in this country, from the mom-and-pop shops to Fortune 500 companies.
When the employer mandate was postponed, that was a clear indicator that, from an administrative perspective, the feds just aren't ready. One glaring example of this is that the initial plan for the IRS to handle consumer compliance was rejected by the organization itself.
Therefore, at the moment, there is no way to make sure consumers and businesses are playing by the rules, and there is no system in place to bill and receive penalties and fees.
The fees (in addition to taxes levied on health insurance carriers) are one of the sources of funding for Obamacare, and right now we don't know who is collecting the money or paying the bill.
But for individual businesses with 50 or fewer employees, the main issue in 2014 is going to be whether or not they can afford to offer insurance, and/or whether their employees are able to help pay for it.