Senators introduce legislation to reduce employer healthcare reporting requirements

On Monday, U.S. Sens. Todd Young (R-IN), Mark Warner (D-VA), John Thune (R-SD) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) introduced two pieces of legislation designed to protect American’s privacy and remove healthcare reporting requirements from employers.

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The two bills, The Employer Reporting Improvement Act and the Paperwork Burden Reduction Act, would allow employers to file some paperwork electronically, eliminating burdensome reporting requirements, the law makers said.

“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,” Young said.

The Employer Reporting Improvement Act would allow employers to file certain documents electronically, protecting their employees privacy and easing compliance burdens. The legislation would also extend the time period during which larger employers can appeal a penalty for not offering adequate, affordable health insurance to all full-time employees, as well as enact a six year statute of limitations for the IRS to levy penalties on non-compliance.

The Paperwork Burden Reduction Act would reduce the number of forms employers have to mail to employees as part of their Affordable Care Act compliance paperwork. Currently, employers and health insurance providers providing minimum essential coverage must report the information to the IRS for each covered individual, as well as provide a copy of the information to the covered individual. The proposed legislation would codify the current IRS policy by allowing some forms to be provided electronically, limiting unnecessary physical paperwork.

“The Affordable Care Act was a seismic achievement in expanding access to health care, but it’s still incumbent on Congress to make sure it’s working as smoothly as possible for the Americans and businesses that it serves,” Warner said. “These two bipartisan bills will take important steps forward to modernize and streamline compliance requirements while protecting privacy, so that more Americans and employers can access and deploy benefits without getting entangled in red tape.”

Similar legislation has already passed the U.S. House of Representatives. The legislation is supported by the Partnership for Employer-Sponsored Coverage, and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).