Why did the Obama administration earlier this month delay enforcement of the Affordable Care Act's employer mandate until 2015? The administration claims that it needed more time to get the mandate right. Some have suggested that politics—the concern that negative effects of the mandate might kick in before midterm elections in 2014—may have influenced the decision.

My own hope is that the administration acted because it is beginning to understand that portions of the ACA are unworkable despite its drafters' good intentions. For example, if my experience running CKE Restaurants Inc. is a guide, there could be serious problems with the law's financing mechanism.

We currently offer all of our more than 21,000 full- and part-time employees at our Carl's Jr. and Hardee's restaurants access to health insurance. At least since 1999, we have offered all of our crew employees access to affordable plans with an annual benefit cap. We currently offer these plans under a waiver from the Department of Health and Human Services, as the ACA prohibits plans with benefit caps.

For restaurant general managers, we offer a more extensive plan where the company pays 60% of the premiums. However, only about 6% of crew-level employees and 60% of general managers sign up for health-insurance coverage.

These low participation rates surprised me. So over the past couple of years I have asked CKE employees what motivated their decisions. Our crew-level workers tend to be younger, and perhaps unsurprisingly some told me they were unconcerned about illness or injury. Others already had insurance through a spouse or parent. A significant number said they declined coverage because they could get medical treatment "for free at the emergency room." Among those who had signed up, many said it was because they were concerned about developing a medical condition (perhaps due to a family history of illness), and then being unable to get affordable coverage due to this pre-existing condition.