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August 12, 2016 at 07:05 AM
The Internal Revenue Service is trying to clear up an Affordable Care Act coverage reporting mystery: Which employers will continue to report health coverage offers on Form 1095-C, and which, if any, will use Form 1095-B?
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The IRS now says it wants employers with fully insured group health plans to continue to use the 1095-C.
A large employer that sponsors its own self-insured health plan may also end up using the 1095-C.
A small employer with a self-insured health plan could end up using the 1095-B. The 1095-B is the same form that health insurers use to report on the coverage they provide. This rule would apply to self-insured employers that are too small to have to comply with the ACA employer “shared responsibility” requirements, or employer coverage mandate system.
An ACA public health insurance exchange would continue to report individual exchange plan coverage on Form 1095-A.
IRS officials talk about their health coverage reporting ideas in a set of draft 1095-B instructions for the 2016 coverage year.
IRS officials could change the instructions. If the IRS keeps the instructions as is, insurers and small employers would begin sending the 2016 1095-B’s to enrollees in early 2017.
The IRS is hoping coverage providers will get 1095-B’s to each “responsible individual,” or primary insured, by Jan. 31, 2017. The proposed deadline for filing 2016 1095-B’s with the IRS is Feb. 28, 2017, for paper filers and March 31, 2017, for electronic filers.
