MILWAUKEE — A top federal official said that after the current open enrollment push ends, the administration’s next step in implementing the Affordable Care Act will be reaching out to small employers to help them set up health coverage for their employees.

Assistant Secretary of Labor Phyllis Borzi — who contributed to earlier health reform attempts under President Bill Clinton, became an expert on the ERISA
employee benefit system and helped draft the COBRA provision for federal employees — said she sympathizes with the challenges faced by employers to
offer affordable health care plans for workers.