Under the Affordable Care Act, there are two unique reporting requirements. The first is the individual mandate reporting requirement under Section 6055 of the Code. The second is the pay or play reporting requirement under Section 6056. Many employers have been wondering about how onerous these reporting requirements may be and while not finalized, the IRS did release draft forms that will apply to these requirements. There have not been any instructions issued (although they are expected in August) and they are not final and probably will not be until sometime later this year. But for now, they provide some insight into what information employers will have to collect.
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Under Section 6055, health insurers and employers sponsoring self-funded group health plans must annually report to the IRS and participants whether the group health plan coverage constitutes minimum essential coverage under Health Care Reform. The IRS forms used for Section 6055 reporting will vary depending on whether the reporting entity is an employer or an insurer. Large employers that sponsor self-insured plans will report on IRS Forms
Under Section 6056, employers have to demonstrate they have satisfied the obligation to offer coverage to employees under the pay or play rules. To report this, employers are going to use Form
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Now remember that these forms are drafts and the instructions are not written yet. Certainly we hope that the instructions will provide an even clearer understanding of how and when to report and who gets copies. But for now, employers should take a look at these drafts just to get a feel for what information they will have to provide and develop a system for making sure that information is collected in a timely manner.
Keith R. McMurdy is a partner with Fox Rothschild focusing on labor and employment issues; he can be reached at
The information in this legal alert is for educational purposes only and should not be taken as specific legal advice.
