U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Treasury Notes
Continuing to Implement the ACA in a
Careful, Thoughtful Manner
By: Mark J. Mazur
7/2/2013
Over the
past several months, the Administration has been engaging in a dialogue with
businesses - many of which already provide health coverage for their workers -
about the new employer and insurer reporting requirements under the Affordable
Care Act (ACA). We have
heard concerns about the complexity of the requirements and the need for more
time to implement them effectively. We recognize that the vast majority of businesses
that will need to do this reporting already provide health insurance to their
workers, and we want to make sure it is easy for others to do so. We have listened to your feedback. And we are taking action.
The Administration is
announcing that it will provide an additional year before the ACA mandatory
employer and insurer reporting requirements begin. This is designed to
meet two goals. First, it will allow us to consider ways to simplify the
new reporting requirements consistent with the law. Second, it will
provide time to adapt health coverage and reporting systems while employers are
moving toward making health coverage affordable and accessible for their
employees. Within the next week, we will publish formal guidance
describing this transition. Just like the Administrationfs effort to turn
the initial 21-page application for health insurance into a three-page
application, we are working hard to adapt and to be flexible about reporting
requirements as we implement the law.
Here is some additional
detail. The ACA includes information reporting (under section 6055) by
insurers, self-insuring employers, and other parties that provide health
coverage. It also requires information reporting (under section 6056) by
certain employers with respect to the health coverage offered to their full-time
employees. We expect to publish proposed rules implementing these
provisions this summer, after a dialogue with stakeholders - including those
responsible employers that already provide their full-time work force with
coverage far exceeding the minimum employer shared responsibility requirements -
in an effort to minimize the reporting, consistent with effective implementation
of the law.
Once these rules have been issued,
the Administration will work with employers, insurers, and other reporting
entities to strongly encourage them to voluntarily implement this information
reporting in 2014, in preparation for the full application of the provisions in
2015. Real-world testing of reporting
systems in 2014 will contribute to a smoother transition to full implementation
in 2015.
We recognize that this
transition relief will make it impractical to determine which employers owe
shared responsibility payments (under section 4980H) for 2014.
Accordingly, we are extending this transition relief to the employer shared
responsibility payments. These payments will not apply for 2014. Any
employer shared responsibility payments will not apply until
2015.
During this 2014 transition
period, we strongly encourage employers to maintain or expand health
coverage. Also, our actions today do not affect employeesf access to the
premium tax credits available under the ACA (nor any other provision of the
ACA).
Mark J. Mazur is the
Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy at the U.S. Department of the
Treasury.
Posted in: Tax Policy