Notice 2015-68 sets forth several items for which the Agencies intend to propose regulations. The items are as follows:
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health insurance issuers must report coverage in catastrophic health insurance plans through a public exchange;
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electronic delivery of statements reporting coverage under expatriate health plans unless the recipient explicitly refuses consent or requests a paper statement;
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allowing filers reporting on insured group health plans to use a truncated taxpayer identification number (TTIN) to identify the employer on the statement furnished to a taxpayer; and
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specifying when a provider of minimum essential coverage is not required to report coverage of an individual who has other minimum essential coverage.
The Notice also provides that the state government agency sponsoring coverage under the Basic Health Program is required to report that coverage.
The most practical part of Notice 2015-68 is its treatment of HRAs. The Agencies admit to the confusing nature of a certain regulation. The Notice provides that the “supplemental coverage rule in § 1.6055-1(d)(2) is intended to eliminate duplicate reporting of an individual’s minimum essential coverage under circumstances when there is reasonable certainty that the provider of the “primary” coverage will report. This rule has proven to be confusing.”
Based on the Notice, it appears that the agencies anticipate proposing regulations that would replace the confusing rule with rules that would provide:
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If an individual is enrolled in a self-insured group health plan and also has a self-insured HRA from the same employer, the employer is required to report only one type of coverage for the individual. However if an employee is only covered under both arrangements for part of the year and drops the non-HRA group health plan and continues to be covered by the HRA, the employer must report coverage under the HRA for those months.
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Reporting will not be required for an HRA that is available only to participants who enroll in an employer’s insured group health plan. This rule only applies if both the HRA and the group health plan overage are eligible employer-sponsored coverage of the same employer.
