Hoosier State Today

Senators Todd Young, Mark R. Warner, John Thune, and Catherine Cortez Masto have expressed approval following the passage of two bills aimed at reducing health care reporting requirements for employers. The legislation seeks to enhance privacy protections and streamline administrative processes by allowing electronic filing of certain communications.

"Under current law, overreaching compliance requirements create uncertainty and stress for employers in Indiana and across the nation. Our bipartisan bills will help reduce these unnecessary burdens and increase efficiency," stated Senator Young.

Senator Warner emphasized the improvements made since the Affordable Care Act's implementation: "Health care for Americans has only gotten better and more accessible since the passage of the Affordable Care Act — just ask anyone who faced lifetime limits or was denied insurance because of a pre-existing condition. These two pieces of legislation will make needed adjustments to modernize and streamline ACA reporting requirements to ensure that they don’t needlessly compromise the privacy of Americans or get in the way of their access to health care."

The bills include the Employer Reporting Improvement Act, which aims to protect privacy by allowing full names and dates of birth instead of Social Security numbers for dependents' information. It also extends appeal periods for penalties related to inadequate health insurance offerings from 30 days to 90 days. Additionally, it establishes a six-year statute of limitations on IRS penalties under the ACA's Employer Shared Responsibility provision.

The Paperwork Burden Reduction Act focuses on minimizing physical paperwork by enabling electronic delivery of tax forms like 1095-B and extending this option to 1095-C forms.

Senator Thune highlighted how small businesses are affected: "Small businesses in South Dakota and across the country have been forced to comply with overly burdensome administrative requirements from the Affordable Care Act." He noted that these bills aim to simplify processes so businesses can concentrate on serving their customers.

Senator Cortez Masto urged swift action: "Employers shouldn’t have to jump through unnecessary hoops to provide health care coverage for their employees... I urge the president to sign them into law as soon as possible."

Both acts were previously approved by the U.S. House of Representatives and now await President Biden's signature.