Effective in 2015, the Affordable Care Act requires that employers report information about the health coverage they offer to employees. Internal Revenue Code Section 6055 requires employers and insurers to report information about the entity providing coverage, including contact information and a list of individuals with identifying information and the months they were covered. Under IRC Section 6056, entities must report information about the applicable large employer offering coverage and a list of full-time employees and information about the coverage offered to each, by month, including the cost of single (or employee only) coverage.
The Section 6055 reporting requirements apply to employers with self-funded or self-insured plans and to the insurer with respect to offering an insured plan. Section 6056 applies to applicable large employers (those with over 50 full-time equivalents who are obligated to offer coverage). Employers with self-funded plans are going to have to file both forms, while employers with an insured plan will only file the latter under Section 6056. While employers can use outside service providers to complete the filing, the responsibility to make sure the filing was made remains on the employer. Returns must be filed with the IRS by Feb. 28 (or March 31 if filed electronically) for the applicable reporting year.
