Pay or play, meaning offer health insurance to full-time employees (those working at least 30 hours per week) or choose to pay penalties is not a no-brainer decision. While many have predicted that lots of employers will simply drop coverage and pay the fine, I find that a less likely outcome in 2014; the two years after that are a different story. Most employers, and employees, are still working from a framework of the status quo, and neither group finds dramatic change appealing.
Nonetheless, HR professionals owe it to their organizations to conduct analysis and determine the costs and benefits of both strategies. Here is a concise, thorough and well written article by Jeff Belfiglio of Davis, Wright and Tremaine on the topic with helpful strategy scenarios.