While Congressional Republicans appear far from united on how toproceed with a plan to fully repeal and replace the AffordableCare Act, President Donald Trump wasted no time puttingin place an executive order that could significantlyimpact existing law, potentially unraveling the entire ACA privateinsurance marketplace.

Trump's executive order directed federal agencies to“waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay the implementationof any provision or requirement” of the ACA that would “impose afiscal burden” on states, health care providers or individuals.

The order is limited in scope, since much ofthe ACA can only be undone by an act of Congress.However, the directive may very well undo much of the enforcementthat underpins the ACA marketplace, including of the individualmandate to purchase insurance and a variety of mandates onemployers, including the requirement to provide full-time employeeswith coverage or pay a fine.

“Interestingly, the executive order did not specifically mentionemployers, but the broad language would seem to sweep them in as agroup that is similarly burdened by the ACA,” Joy Napier-Joyce,leader of the employee benefits group at law firm Jackson Lewis inBaltimore, tells the Society for Human ResourceManagement.

Furthermore, the employer mandate is nearly impossible toenforce without robust enforcement of employer reporting. The IRShas broad discretion in enforcing reporting deadlines, and a newcommissioner of the agency could largely kill the mandate bywaiving reporting deadlines.

Nevertheless, adds Scott Behrens, a benefit attorney speakingwith SHRM, “Prudent employers will want to continue to comply withthe ACA, including the play-or-pay mandate and reportingrequirements … until formal guidance relieves them of thosecompliance obligations.”

Health policy commentators say that Trump's action wasrelatively predictable. In contrast to the president's repeatedflaunting of long-established expectations of political behavior,he so far appears to be playing within the rules that govern healthpolicy.

Tim Jost, a law professor at Washington and Lee University whostudies health policy, suggests in an interviewwith Vox that he is relieved by Trump's action.

“I was worried [Trump] would do something unpredictable, butthis is what I expected,” he says. “I think he's been advised thathe can't repeal the Affordable Care Act through executive action,and now we see where this goes.”