Commonsense Reporting Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4070 To streamline the employer reporting process and strengthen the eligibility verification process for the premium assistance tax credit and cost- sharing subsidy. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 25, 2019 Mr. THOMPSON of California (for himself and Mr. SMITH of Nebraska) intro- duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To streamline the employer reporting process and strengthen the eligibility verification process for the premium assist- ance tax credit and cost-sharing subsidy. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Commonsense Report- 4 ing Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:14 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4070.IH H4070 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 4070 IH (1) The Department of the Treasury and the 1 Internal Revenue Service should work together with 2 other relevant departments and agencies to identify 3 and implement methods to minimize compliance bur- 4 dens on businesses, insurance carriers, and individ- 5 uals. 6 (2) Such collaboration should strike an appro- 7 priate balance between sufficient reporting to en- 8 force the law and protecting the privacy of individ- 9 uals. 10 SEC. 3. VOLUNTARY PROSPECTIVE REPORTING SYSTEM. 11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 12 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the 13 Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and 14 Human Services, the Secretary of Labor, and the Admin- 15 istrator of the Small Business Administration, shall de- 16 velop and implement guidance providing for a prospective 17 reporting system meeting the requirements of subsection 18 (b). Such system shall be available for use by employers 19 on a voluntary basis beginning not later than January 1, 20 2020. 21 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The system created under sub- 22 section (a) shall include— 23 (1) voluntary reporting by each participating 24 employer that offers minimum essential coverage to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:14 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4070.IH H4070 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 4070 IH its full-time employees and their dependents under 1 an eligible employer-sponsored plan, not later than 2 45 days before the first day of the annual open en- 3 rollment period under section 1311(c)(6)(B) of the 4 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 5 U.S.C. 18031(c)(6)(B)) for each calendar year, of— 6 (A) the name and employer identification 7 number for purposes of section 6056 of the In- 8 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 of the employer; 9 (B) a certification of— 10 (i) whether coverage meeting the defi- 11 nition of minimum essential coverage in 12 section 5000A(f) of the Internal Revenue 13 Code of 1986 is offered to the full-time 14 employees (within the meaning of section 15 4980H of such Code) of the employer; 16 (ii) whether such coverage is offered 17 to part-time employees of the employer; 18 (iii) whether such coverage is offered 19 to dependents of employees; 20 (iv) whether such coverage is offered 21 to spouses of employees; 22 (v) whether such coverage meets the 23 minimum value requirement of section 24 36B(c)(2)(C)(ii) of such Code; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:14 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4070.IH H4070 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 4070 IH (vi) whether such coverage satisfies 1 the requirements to qualify for one of the 2 affordability safe harbors promulgated by 3 the Secretary of the Treasury for purposes 4 of section 4980H of such Code; and 5 (vii) whether the employer reasonably 6 expects to be liable for any shared respon- 7 sibility payment under section 4980H of 8 such Code for such year; 9 (C) the months during the prospective re- 10 porting period that such coverage is available to 11 individuals described in clauses (i) through (iv) 12 of subparagraph (B); 13 (D) what waiting periods, if any, apply 14 with respect to such coverage; and 15 (E) a list of all employer identification 16 numbers of the employer for entities that em- 17 ploy employees within the employers control 18 group under subsection (b), (c), (m), or (o) of 19 section 414 of the Internal Revenue Code for 20 1986; 21 (2) processes necessary to ensure that Ex- 22 changes, the Federal Marketplace Data Services 23 Hub, and the Internal Revenue Service can securely 24 and confidentially access the information described 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:14 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4070.IH H4070 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 4070 IH in paragraph (1) as necessary to carry out their re- 1 spective missions, and to provide to the Secretary of 2 Health and Human Services additional information 3 relating to eligibility determinations for advance pay- 4 ment of the premium tax credits under section 36B 5 of such Code and the cost-sharing subsidies under 6 section 1402 of the Patient Protection and Afford- 7 able Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18071); 8 (3) a process to allow Exchanges to follow up 9 with employers in order to obtain additional reason- 10 ably necessary information relating to an employee’s 11 eligibility for such advance payment or such cost- 12 sharing subsidies, and to allow an employee to re- 13 ceive notification of any problem in verifying such 14 eligibility; and 15 (4) a process to allow employers using the sys- 16 tem to provide timely updates to the Federal Mar- 17 ketplace Data Services Hub regarding any cancella- 18 tion of coverage or significant change in coverage for 19 participating employees that would change the infor- 20 mation reported under paragraph (1). 21 (c) EMPLOYER NOTIFICATION OF EMPLOYEE EN- 22 ROLLMENT IN EXCHANGE PLANS.—Subparagraph (J) of 23 section 1311(d)(4) of the Patient Protection and Afford- 24 able Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18031(d)(4)(J)) is amended by 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:14 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4070.IH H4070 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 4070 IH striking ‘‘to each employer’’ and all that follows through 1 ‘‘(and the effective date of such cessation); and’’ and in- 2 serting ‘‘to each employer— 3 ‘‘(i) the name of each employee of the 4 employer who enrolls in a qualified health 5 plan for a plan year, or whose dependents 6 enroll in such a plan, at the time of such 7 enrollment; or 8 ‘‘(ii) the name of each employee of the 9 employer described in subparagraph (I)(ii) 10 who ceases coverage under a qualified 11 health plan during a plan year (and the ef- 12 fective date of such cessation); and’’. 13 (d) EXEMPTION FROM REPORTING REQUIREMENT 14 UNDER INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF 1986.—Section 15 6056 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended 16 by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (g) and by 17 inserting after subsection (e) the following new subsection: 18 ‘‘(f) EXEMPTION.—If, through the system created 19 pursuant to section 3(a) of the Commonsense Reporting 20 Act of 2019, an employer provides prospective reporting 21 for any calendar year that meets the requirements of sec- 22 tion 3(b)(1) of such Act— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:14 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4070.IH H4070 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 4070 IH ‘‘(1) such employer shall be treated as satis- 1 fying the return requirements of subsections (a) and 2 (b) for such year; and 3 ‘‘(2) such employer shall be treated as satis- 4 fying the requirements of subsection (c) for such 5 year if the employer— 6 ‘‘(A) furnishes the statement described in 7 such section to those employees of the employer 8 whose names have been provided to the em- 9 ployer by an Exchange under section 10 1311(d)(4)(J)(i) of the Patient Protection and 11 Affordable Care Act regarding enrollment of the 12 employee or a dependent in a qualified health 13 plan (as defined in section 1301 of such Act) 14 through the Exchange; and 15 ‘‘(B) furnishes a copy of such statement 16 with respect to such employees to the Sec- 17 retary.’’. 18 (e) THIRD-PARTY FILING.—An employer may con- 19 tract with a third party to make the report under sub- 20 section (b)(1) without affecting the employer’s treatment 21 as having satisfied the return requirements of subsections 22 (a) and (b) of section 6056 of the Internal Revenue Code 23 of 1986. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:14 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4070.IH H4070 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 4070 IH (f) ACCESS TO THE NATIONAL DIRECTORY OF NEW 1 HIRES.—Subsection (i)(3) of section 453 of the Social Se- 2 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 653) is amended by adding at the 3 end the following new sentence: ‘‘The Secretary of the 4 Treasury and the Secretary of Health and Human Serv- 5 ices shall have access to the information in the National 6 Directory of New Hires for purposes of administering sec- 7 tion 36B and 4980H of the Internal Revenue Code of 8 1986 and section 1402 of the Patient Protection and Af- 9 fordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18071). Subsection (k)(3) 10 shall not apply to information received for purposes of the 11 administration of such sections 36B and 4980H of such 12 Code and section 1402 of such Act.’’. 13 (g) IMPROVING EMPLOYEE ACCESS TO ACCURATE 14 EINS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enact- 15 ment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall de- 16 velop and implement guidance for allowing any employee 17 of an employer to receive, on request, the employer’s em- 18 ployer identification number for purposes of section 6056 19 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Employers shall 20 provide the employer’s employer identification number for 21 purposes of section 6056 of the Internal Revenue Code 22 of 1986 on one of the following documents of the employ- 23 er’s election: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:14 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4070.IH H4070 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 4070 IH (1) Health Insurance Marketplace Coverage 1 Options Notice required under section 18B of the 2 Fair Labor Standards Act. 3 (2) Summary of Benefits and Coverage de- 4 scribed in section 2715 of the Patient Protection 5 and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18071). 6 (3) Marketplace Employer Coverage tool. 7 (4) Annual benefits enrollment materials dis- 8 tributed to employees, including through an intranet 9 or an online portal accessible by employees. 10 (5) Employee pay statements or Form W–2. 11 (h) FUNDING FOR VOLUNTARY PROSPECTIVE RE- 12 PORTING SYSTEM.—It is the sense of Congress that build- 13 ing and maintaining the voluntary prospective reporting 14 system described in this section will require appropriations 15 to the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Health 16 and Human Services, the Secretary of Labor, and the Ad- 17 ministrator of the Small Business Administration, and 18 that necessary sums to carry out the requirements of this 19 section should be appropriated for such purpose. 20 SEC. 4. PROTECTION OF DEPENDENT PRIVACY. 21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 6055(b) 22 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by add- 23 ing at the end the following flush sentence: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:14 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4070.IH H4070 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 4070 IH ‘‘For purposes of subparagraph (B)(i), in the case of 1 an individual other than the primary insured, if the health 2 insurance issuer or the employer is unable to collect or 3 maintain information on the TINs of such individuals 4 (other than for purposes of this section), the Secretary 5 may allow the individual’s full name and date of birth to 6 be substituted for the name and TIN. In the event the 7 Secretary allows the use of the individual’s full name and 8 date of birth in lieu of the TIN, the Social Security Ad- 9 ministration shall assist the Internal Revenue Service in 10 providing data matches to determine the TIN associated 11 with the name and date of birth provided by the Internal 12 Revenue Service with respect to such individual.’’. 13 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 14 this section shall apply to returns the due date for which 15 is after the date that is 60 days after the date of the enact- 16 ment of this Act. 17 SEC. 5. ELECTRONIC STATEMENTS. 18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (c) of section 6056 of 19 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding 20 at the end the following new paragraph: 21 ‘‘(3) ELECTRONIC DELIVERY.—An individual 22 shall be deemed to have consented to receive the 23 statement under this subsection in electronic form if 24 such individual has affirmatively consented at any 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:14 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4070.IH H4070 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 4070 IH prior time, to the person who is the employer of the 1 individual during the calendar year to which the 2 statement relates, to receive such statement in elec- 3 tronic form. The preceding sentence shall not apply 4 if the individual revokes consent in writing with re- 5 spect to the statement under this subsection.’’. 6 (b) STATEMENTS RELATING TO HEALTH INSURANCE 7 COVERAGE.—Subsection (c) of section 6055 of the Inter- 8 nal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the 9 end the following new paragraph: 10 ‘‘(3) ELECTRONIC DELIVERY.—An individual 11 shall be deemed to have consented to receive the 12 statement under this subsection in electronic form if 13 such individual has affirmatively consented at any 14 prior time, to the person required to make such 15 statement (such as the provider of the individual’s 16 health coverage), to receive in electronic form any 17 private health information (such as electronic health 18 records), unless the individual revokes such consent 19 in writing.’’. 20 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 21 this section shall apply to statements the due date for 22 which is after December 31, 2019. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:14 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4070.IH H4070 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 4070 IH SEC. 6. GAO STUDIES. 1 (a) STUDY OF FIRST YEARS OF EMPLOYER REPORT- 2 ING.— 3 ( [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]