Two NABIP-backed reporting relief bills become law

🎼Tell me something good! 🎶 Let’s talk about some good news!

President Biden recently signed legislation that NABIP had been supporting for years easing certain reporting and disclosure requirements under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Seriously, this is good news.

Specifically, the law makes three major improvements:

1. Form 1095-C Distribution

Before: Employers had to automatically distribute Forms 1095-C to employees.

Now: Employers can post a notice on their website and provide the forms upon individual request. If an employee asks for a copy, the employer must provide it within 30 days or by January 31, whichever is later.

2. SSN/TIN Solicitations

Before: Employers had to request an individual’s Social Security Number (SSN) or Tax Identification Number (TIN) up to three times.

Now: Employers can substitute a birth date after one solicitation—no repeated solicitations necessary.

3. Penalty and Appeal Relief

Before: The IRS could look back to the beginning of the Employer Mandate, and Employers only had 30 days to respond to a Letter 226-J

Now: Employers have 90 days to respond and the statute of limitations has been reduced to six years.

While this doesn’t fix all the challenges with employer reporting (prospective would have been great, but the IRS said it was too expensive for example), we need to celebrate the wins where we can.

Employers who pay to print and mail 1095-C’s just got a little savings this year. Score!