Compliance: Yearly Deadlines for Health Plans
Do you offer group health plans coverage to your employees? Employers that provide coverage are subject to multiple compliance requirements throughout the year. Certain requirements have been around for many years, while others have been recently added by the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Continue reading for a summary of the many compliance requirements and their associated deadlines that health plan providers should be aware of throughout the year. Certain deadlines for non-calendar year plans may vary from what is outlined in this summary. This summary only covers recurring calendar year compliance deadlines. Other requirements that are not based on the calendar year are not included below.
January
| Deadline | Requirement | Description |
|
January 31 |
Form W-2 | Deadline for providing Forms W-2 to employees. The ACA requires employers to report the aggregate cost of employer-sponsored group health plan coverage on their employees’ Forms W-2. The purpose is to provide employees with information on how much their health coverage costs. Certain types of coverage are not required to be reported on Form W-2.
This Form W-2 reporting requirement is currently optional for small employers (those who file fewer than 250 Forms W-2). Employers that file 250 or more Forms W-2 are required to comply with the ACA’s reporting requirement. |
| January 31 | Form 1095-C or Form 1095-B—Annual Statement to Individuals | Applicable large employers (ALEs) subject to the ACA’s employer shared responsibility rules must furnish Form 1095-C (Section 6056 statements) annually to their full-time employees. Employers with self-insured health plans that are not ALEs must furnish Form 1095-B (Section 6055 statements) annually to covered employees.
The Forms 1095-B and 1095-C are due on or before Jan. 31 of the year immediately following the calendar year to which the statements relate. Extensions may be available in certain limited circumstances. However, an alternate deadline generally is not available for ALEs that sponsor non-calendar year plans.
Update: The IRS extended the deadline for furnishing the 2018 employee statements, from Jan. 31, 2019, to March 4, 2019. |
February
| Deadline | Requirement | Description |
|
February 28 (March 31, if filing electronically) |
Section 6055 and 6056 Reporting | Under Section 6056, ALEs subject to the ACA’s employer shared responsibility rules are required to report information to the IRS about the health coverage they offer (or do not offer) to their full-time employees. ALEs must file Form 1094-C and Form 1095-C with the IRS annually.
Under Section 6055, self-insured plan sponsors are required to report information about the health coverage they provided during the year. Self-insured plan sponsors must generally file Form 1094-B and Form 1095-B with the IRS annually. ALEs that sponsor self-insured plans are required to report information to the IRS under Section 6055 about health coverage provided, as well as information under Section 6056 about offers of health coverage. ALEs that sponsor self-insured plans will generally use a combined reporting method on Form 1094-C and Form 1095-C to report information under both Sections 6055 and 6056. All forms must be filed with the IRS annually, no later than Feb. 28 (March 31, if filed electronically) of the year following the calendar year to which the return relates. Reporting entities that are filing 250 or more returns must file electronically. There is no alternate filing date for employers with non-calendar year plans. |
March
| Deadline | Requirement | Description |
|
March 1 (calendar year plans) |
Medicare Part D Disclosure to CMS | Group health plan sponsors that provide prescription drug coverage to Medicare Part D eligible individuals must disclose to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) whether prescription drug coverage is creditable or not. In general, a plan’s prescription drug coverage is considered creditable if its actuarial value equals or exceeds the actuarial value of the Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage. Disclosure is due:
Plan sponsors must use the online disclosure form on the CMS Creditable Coverage webpage. |
July
| Deadline | Requirement | Description |
|
July 31 |
PCORI Fee | Deadline for filing IRS Form 720 and paying Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) fees for the previous year. For insured health plans, the issuer of the health insurance policy is responsible for the PCORI fee payment. For self-insured plans, the PCORI fee is paid by the plan sponsor.
The PCORI fees are temporary—the fees do not apply to plan years ending on or after Oct. 1, 2019. This means that, for calendar year plans, the PCORI fees do not apply for the 2019 plan year. |
|
July 31 |
Form 5500 | Plan administrators of ERISA employee benefit plans must file Form 5500 by the last day of the seventh month following the end of the plan year, unless an extension has been granted. Form 5500 reports information on a plan’s financial condition, investments and operations. Form 5558 is used to apply for an extension of two and one-half months to file Form 5500.
Small health plans (fewer than 100 participants) that are fully insured, unfunded or a combination of insured/unfunded, are generally exempt from the Form 5500 filing requirement. The Department of Labor’s (DOL) website and the latest Form 5500 instructions provide information on who is required to file and detailed information on filing. |
September
| Deadline | Requirement | Description |
|
September 30 |
Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) Rebates | The deadline for issuers to pay medical loss ratio (MLR) rebates for the 2014 reporting year and beyond is Sept. 30. The ACA requires health insurance issuers to spend at least 80 to 85 percent of their premiums on health care claims and health care quality improvement activities. Issuers that do not meet the applicable MLR percentage must pay rebates to consumers.
Also, if the rebate is a “plan asset” under ERISA, the rebate should, as a general rule, be used within three months of when it is received by the plan sponsor. Thus, employers who decide to distribute the rebate to participants should make the distributions within this three-month time limit. |
|
September 30 |
Summary Annual Report | Plan administrators must automatically provide participants with the summary annual report (SAR) within nine months after the end of the plan year, or two months after the due date for filing Form 5500 (with approved extension).
Plans that are exempt from the annual 5500 filing requirement are not required to provide an SAR. Large, completely unfunded health plans are also generally exempt from the SAR requirement. |
October
| Deadline | Requirement | Description |
|
October 15 |
Medicare Part D – Creditable Coverage Notices | Group health plan sponsors that provide prescription drug coverage to Medicare Part D eligible individuals must disclose whether the prescription drug coverage is creditable or not. Medicare Part D creditable coverage disclosure notices must be provided to participants before the start of the annual coordinated election period, which runs from Oct. 15-Dec. 7 of each year. Coverage is creditable if the actuarial value of the coverage equals or exceeds the actuarial value of coverage under Medicare Part D. This disclosure notice helps participants make informed and timely enrollment decisions.
Disclosure notices must be provided to all Part D eligible individuals who are covered under, or apply for, the plan’s prescription drug coverage, regardless of whether the prescription drug coverage is primary or secondary to Medicare Part D. Model disclosure notices are available on CMS’ website. |
Annual Notices
| Type of Notice | Description |
| WHCRA Notice | The Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act (WHCRA) requires group health plans that provide medical and surgical benefits for mastectomies to also provide benefits for reconstructive surgery. Group health plans must provide a notice about the WHCRA’s coverage requirements at the time of enrollment and on an annual basis after enrollment. The initial enrollment notice requirement can be satisfied by including the information on WHCRA’s coverage requirements in the plan’s summary plan description (SPD). The annual WHCRA notice can be provided at any time during the year. Employers with open enrollment periods often include the annual notice with their open enrollment materials. Employers that redistribute their SPDs each year can satisfy the annual notice requirement by including the WHCRA notice in their SPDs.
Model language is available in the DOL’s compliance assistance guide. |
| CHIP Notice | If an employer’s group health plan covers residents in a state that provides a premium subsidy under a Medicaid plan or CHIP, the employer must send an annual notice about the available assistance to all employees residing in that state. the annual CHIP notice can be provided at any time during the year. Employers with annual enrollment periods often provide CHIP notice with their open enrollment materials.
The DOL has a model notice that employers may use. |
| Group health plans and health insurance issuers are required to provide an SBC to applicants and enrollees each year at open enrollment or renewal time. The purpose of the SBC is to allow individuals to easily compare their options when they are shopping for or enrolling in health plan coverage. Federal agencies have provided a template for the SBC, which health plans and issuers are required to use.
The issuer for fully insured plans usually prepares the SBC. If the issuer prepares the SBC, an employer is not also required to prepare an SBC for the health plan, although the employer may need to distribute the SBC prepared by the issuer. The SBC must be included in open enrollment materials. If renewal is automatic, the SBC must be provided no later than 30 days prior to the first day of the new plan year. However, for insured plans, if the new policy has not yet been issued 30 days prior to the beginning of the plan year, the SBC must be provided as soon as practicable, but no later than seven business days after the issuance of the policy. |
|
| Grandfathered Plan Notice | To maintain a plan’s grandfathered status, the plan sponsor or must include a statement of the plan’s grandfathered status in plan materials provided to participants describing the plan’s benefits (such as the summary plan description, insurance certificate and open enrollment materials). The DOL has provided a model notice for grandfathered plans. This notice only applies to plans that have grandfathered status under the ACA. |
| Notice of Patient Protections | If a non-grandfathered plan requires participants to designate a participating primary care provider, the plan or issuer must provide a notice of patient protections whenever the SPD or similar description of benefits is provided to a participant. This notice is often included in the SPD or insurance certificate provided by the issuer (or otherwise provided with enrollment materials).
The DOL provided a model notice of patient protections for plans and issuers to use. |
| HIPAA Privacy Notice | The HIPAA Privacy Rule requires self-insured health plans to maintain and provide their own privacy notices. Special rules, however, apply for fully insured plans. Under these rules, the health insurance issuer, and not the health plan itself, is primarily responsible for the privacy notice.
Self-insured health plans are required to send the privacy notice at certain times, including to new enrollees at the time of enrollment. Thus, the privacy notice should be provided with the plan’s open enrollment materials. Also, at least once every three years, health plans must either redistribute the privacy notice or notify participants that the privacy notice is available and explain how to obtain a copy. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has model Privacy Notices for health plans to choose from. |
| HIPAA Special Enrollment Notice | At or prior to the time of enrollment, a group health plan must provide each eligible employee with a notice of his or her special enrollment rights under HIPAA. This notice should be included with the plan’s enrollment materials. It is often included in the health plan’s SPD or insurance booklet. Model language is available in the DOL’s compliance assistance guide. |
| Wellness Notice HIPAA | Employers with health-contingent wellness programs must provide a notice that informs employees that there is an alternative way to qualify for the program’s reward. This notice must be included in all plan materials that describe the terms of the wellness program. If wellness program materials are being distributed at open enrollment (or renewal time), this notice should be included with those materials. Sample language is available in the DOL’s compliance assistance guide. |
| Wellness Notice ADA | To comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), wellness plans that collect health information or involve medical exams must provide a notice to employees that explains how the information will be used, collected and kept confidential. Employees must receive this notice before providing any health information and with enough time to decide whether to participate in the program. Employers that are implementing a wellness program for the upcoming plan year should include this notice in their open enrollment materials. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has provided a sample notice for employers to use. |
Resources: https://www.ada.gov/; https://www.dol.gov/; https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/guidance/model-notices-privacy-practices/index.html; https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Prescription-Drug-Coverage/CreditableCoverage/Model-Notice-Letters.html; https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/retirement-plan-participant-notices-when-the-end-of-the-plan-year-has-passed; https://www.cms.gov/cciio/programs-and-initiatives/health-insurance-market-reforms/medical-loss-ratio.html; https://www.dol.gov/sites/default/files/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/publications/compliance-assistance-guide.pdf; https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/laws-and-regulations/laws/affordable-care-act/for-employers-and-advisers/preexisting-condition-exclusions; https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/laws-and-regulations/laws/affordable-care-act/for-employers-and-advisers/summary-of-benefits; https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/laws-and-regulations/laws/chipra/working-group; https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/laws-and-regulations/laws/whcra; https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/employers-and-advisers/plan-administration-and-compliance/reporting-and-filing/forms; https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/patient-centered-outcomes-research-institute-fee; https://www.irs.gov/affordable-care-act/individuals-and-families/form-1095-b-what-you-need-to-do-with-this-form; https://www.irs.gov/affordable-care-act/individuals-and-families/form-1095-c-what-you-need-to-do-with-this-form; https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Prescription-Drug-Coverage/CreditableCoverage/index.html?redirect=/CreditableCoverage/; https://www.irs.gov/affordable-care-act/questions-and-answers-on-information-reporting-by-health-coverage-providers-section-6055; https://www.irs.gov/affordable-care-act/employers/questions-and-answers-on-reporting-of-offers-of-health-insurance-coverage-by-employers-section-6056; https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-w-2;
ACA: 4 things employers should focus on this fall
Yes, employers still need to worry about the Affordable Care Act and its many rules and regulations. Read this blog post for more information.
During the coming months, employers may have questions about whether they still need to worry about the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The answer is yes; the ACA is alive and well, despite renewed legal challenges and the elimination of the individual mandate beginning next year.
While the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act reduced the tax penalty for individuals who don’t have health coverage to $0, effective for 2019, employers are still subject to penalties for failing to comply with certain ACA rules. For example, the IRS is currently enforcing “employer shared responsibility payments” (ESRP) penalties against large employers who fail to meet the ACA requirements to offer qualifying health coverage to their full-time employees. For this purpose, large employers are those with 50 or more full-time or full-time equivalent employees. Here are four things about the ACA that employers should focus on now to avoid significant financial liabilities.
1. The IRS is currently assessing penalties using 226-J letters
In 2017, the IRS began assessing ESRP penalties against large employers that failed to offer qualifying health coverage to at least 95 percent of their full-time employees. An ESRP penalty assessment comes in the form of a 226-J letter, which explains that the employer may be liable for the penalty, based on information obtained by the IRS from Forms 1095-C filed by the employer for that coverage year, and tax returns filed by the employer’s employees. The employer has only 30 days to respond to the 226-J letter, using IRS Form 14764, which is enclosed with the 226-J letter. The employer must complete and return IRS Form 14765 to challenge any part of the assessment.
The short timeframe for responding to a 226-J letter means that staff who are likely to be the first to receive communications from the IRS should have a plan in place to react quickly. Training for staff should include information about who to notify and what documentation to keep readily available to support an appeal. Not responding to the IRS 226-J letter will result in a final assessment of the proposed penalty. These penalties can be significant. In the worst case, an employer with inadequate health coverage could pay for the cost of the coverage, as well as penalties of $2,000/year (as indexed) for every full time employee (less 30), even those who received health coverage from the employer.
Depending on the employer’s response to the initial assessment, the IRS will then send the employer one of four types of 227 acknowledgment letters. If the employer disputes the penalty, the IRS could accept the employer’s explanation and reduce the penalty to $0 (a 227-K letter). But if the IRS rejects any part of the employer’s response, the employer will receive either a 227-L letter, with a lower penalty amount, or a 227-M letter, a notice that the amount of the initial assessment hasn’t changed. These letters will explain steps the employer has to take to continue disputing the assessment, including applicable deadlines. The next phase of the appeal might include requesting a telephone conference or meeting with an IRS supervisor, or requesting a hearing with the IRS Office of Appeals.
2. ACA reporting requirements and penalties still apply
Along with the ESRP penalties, the Form 1094-C and 1095-C reporting requirements still apply to large employers. The IRS uses information on Forms 1095-C in applying the ESRP rules and deciding whether to assess penalties against the reporting employer. Large employers must file Forms 1095-C every year with the IRS and send them to full-time employees in order to document compliance with the ACA requirement to offer qualified, affordable coverage to at least 95 percent of full-time employees. Technically, the forms are due to employees by January 31, and to the IRS by March 31, each year, to report compliance for the prior year. In the past, the IRS has extended the deadline for providing the forms to employees, but not the deadline for filing with the IRS.
Penalties can apply if an employer fails to file with the IRS or provide the forms to employees, and the penalty amount can be doubled if the IRS determines that the employer intentionally disregarded the filing requirement. These penalties can apply if an employer fails to file or provide the forms at all, files and provides the forms late, or if the forms are timely filed and provided, but are incorrect or incomplete.
In some instances, the IRS has assessed ESRP penalties based on Form 1095-C reporting errors. So, in addition to the reporting-related penalties, inaccurate information on Forms 1095-C can lead to erroneous ESRP assessments that the employer will then need to refute, using the IRS forms and procedures described above.
Employers should carefully monitor their ACA filings and reports, and consider correcting prior forms if errors are discovered. Employers should also continue tracking offers of coverage made for each month of 2018, to prepare for compliance with the Form 1095-C reporting requirement early in 2019.
3. “Summary of Benefits and Coverage” disclosure forms are still required
The ACA added a new disclosure requirement for group health plans, called a “Summary of Benefits and Coverage” or “SBC,” that’s intended to help employees make an “apples to apples” comparison of different benefit plan features, such as deductibles, out-of-pocket maximums, and copayments for various benefits and services. This requirement still applies, and SBCs must be provided during open enrollment, upon an employee’s initial eligibility for coverage under the plan, and in response to a request from an employee. The template SBC form and instructions for completing it were updated for coverage periods starting after April 1, 2017. For 2018, a penalty of $1,128 per participant can apply to the failure to provide an SBC as required.
4. The “Cadillac Tax” has not been repealed
The ACA’s so-called Cadillac tax — an annual excise tax on high-cost health coverage — was initially scheduled to take effect in 2018. The Cadillac tax has been repeatedly delayed, and the federal budget bill passed in January delayed it again through December 31, 2021. Despite the repeated delays, the Cadillac tax has not been repealed and is currently scheduled to apply to health coverage offered on or after January 1, 2022. This might be an issue to consider for employers who are negotiating collective bargaining agreements in 2018 that include terms for health benefits extending beyond 2021.
While uncertainty continues to surround the ACA, employers should remain aware of continuing compliance requirements to avoid the potentially significant penalties that remain in effect under the ACA.
Boyette, J; Masson, L (21 August 2018) "ACA: 4 things employers should focus on this fall" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://www.benefitspro.com/2018/08/21/aca-4-things-employers-should-focus-on-this-fall/
IRS Update on Filing ACA Forms After June 30, 2016
The IRS is giving a pass this year but encourages those who missed the deadline to file ACA Forms to still complete filing returns. See the article below from ThinkHR.com for more information.
Original Post from ThinkHR.com on July 1, 2016
If you are an applicable large employer, self-insured employer, or other health coverage provider, the deadline to electronically file ACA information returns (e.g., Forms 1094-B, 1095-B, 1094-C and 1095-C) with the IRS was June 30, 2016. The ACA Information Returns (AIR) system will remain up and running after the deadline. If you were not able to submit all required ACA information returns by June 30, 2016, you are advised to complete the filing of your returns after the deadline.
It is important to note the following:
- The AIR system will continue to accept information returns filed after June 30, 2016. In addition, you can still complete required system testing after June 30, 2016.
- If any of your transmissions or submissions was rejected by the AIR system, you have 60 days from the date of rejection to submit a replacement and have the rejected submission treated as timely filed.
- If you submitted and received “Accepted with Errors” messages, you may continue to submit corrections after June 30, 2016.
The IRS is aware that some filers are still in the process of completing their 2015 tax year filings. As is the case for other information returns, penalties may be associated with the submission of the ACA information returns for failure to timely file required returns. As the IRS has publicly stated in various forums in recent months, filers of Forms 1094-B, 1095-B, 1094-C and 1095-C that miss the June 30, 2016 due date will not generally be assessed late filing penalties under section 6721 if the reporting entity has made legitimate efforts to register with the AIR system and to file its information returns, and it continues to make such efforts and completes the process as soon as possible. In addition, consistent with existing information reporting rules, filers that are assessed penalties may still meet the criteria for a reasonable cause waiver from the penalties.
If you are not an electronic filer and you missed the May 31, 2016 paper filing deadline for ACA information returns, you should also complete the filing of your paper returns as soon as possible.
For more information, the IRS provides helpful questions and answers on the ACA reporting requirements for applicable large employers here.
Read the original article here.
Source:
Unknown (2016, July 1). IRS Update on Filing ACA Forms After June 30, 2016 [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://www.thinkhr.com/blog/hr/irs-update-on-filing-aca-forms-after-june-30-2016/
Employer Mandate Repeal Won’t Relinquish Employers From ACA Compliance
Originally posted May 13, 2014 by Melissa A. Winn on https://eba.benefitnews.com.
Eliminating the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate would not significantly reduce the number of insured Americans, according to a recent analysis by researchers at the Urban Institute in Washington. But, it would also not eliminate your employer client’s need to maintain an ACA-compliant plan, one industry expert notes.
Completely abandoning the employer shared responsibility rule would reduce the number of people in 2016 with health insurance from 251.1 million to 250.9 million, a decrease of just 200,000 people, the report says, adding that it would also eliminate labor market distortions in the law and lessen opposition to the law from employers.
Regardless of whether the mandate is eliminated, however, work will remain for benefit advisers helping employers meet ACA compliance, says Jessica Waltman, senior vice president of government affairs for the National Association of Health Underwriters.
“Maintaining an ACA-compliant plan requires a lot of other components,” she says. “Employers have to comply with all of the market reforms and notice requirements and offer all of the benefit mandates, as well,” requirements brokers and agents can assist employers with, she says.
“There are significant penalties for not maintaining ACA compliance” with other requirements of the health law, such as limits on mandatory waiting periods, she adds.
Also, employer-sponsored health plans will not go away if the employer shared responsibility rule is eliminated, she says, noting that the value of benefit advisers will remain there, as well. “The vast majority of businesses affected by the mandate offered coverage before the mandate.”
The authors of the analysis — Why Not Just Eliminate the Employer Mandate? — agree. About two thirds of American workers now have offers of employer coverage when there is no mandate to do so, they write. “Most employers would not drop coverage if the penalties were eliminated,” the report says.
Downfall?
Ending the employer responsibility rule would, however, eliminate the federal revenue expected from penalty payments that employers would pay under the law, which the authors estimate at just less than $4 billion in 2016. Slight increases in Medicaid and marketplace subsidies due to the elimination of the employer requirement would also cost the government about $46 billion between 2014 and 2023.
Alternative sources of revenue would have to be found to compensate for the federal loss of penalties, the analysis notes.
The Internal Revenue Service in February issued final guidance saying that employers with fewer than 100 employees won’t have to provide health insurance coverage until Jan. 1, 2016.
Previously, on July 2, 2013, the Obama administration delayed the need for all employers with 50 or more employees to provide health insurance coverage until Jan. 1, 2015.