I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1264 

To streamline the employer reporting process and strengthen the eligibility 

verification process for the premium assistance tax credit and costsharing subsidy. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2023 

Mr. SMITH of Nebraska (for himself and Mr. THOMPSON of California) introduced 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 assistance tax credit and cost-sharing subsidy. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Commonsense Report5 ing Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The Department of the Treasury and the 

2 Internal Revenue Service should work together with 

3 other relevant departments and agencies to identify 

4 and implement methods to minimize compliance bur5 dens on businesses, insurance carriers, and individ6 uals. 

7 (2) Such collaboration should strike an appro8 priate balance between sufficient reporting to en9 force the law and protecting the privacy of individ10 uals. 

11 SEC. 3. VOLUNTARY PROSPECTIVE REPORTING SYSTEM. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

13 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the 

14 Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and 

15 Human Services, the Secretary of Labor, and the Admin16 istrator of the Small Business Administration, shall de17 velop and implement guidance providing for a prospective 

18 reporting system meeting the requirements of subsection 

19 (b). Such system shall be available for use by employers 

20 on a voluntary basis beginning not later than January 1, 

21 2024. 

22 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The system created under sub23 section (a) shall include— 

24 (1) voluntary reporting by each participating 

25 employer that offers minimum essential coverage to 


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1 its full-time employees and their dependents under 

2 an eligible employer-sponsored plan, not later than 

3 45 days before the first day of the annual open en4 rollment period under section 1311(c)(6)(B) of the 

5 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 

6 U.S.C. 18031(c)(6)(B)) for each calendar year, of— 

7 (A) the name and employer identification 

8 number for purposes of section 6056 of the In9 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 of the employer; 

10 (B) a certification of— 

11 (i) whether coverage meeting the defi12 nition of minimum essential coverage in 

13 section 5000A(f) of the Internal Revenue 

14 Code of 1986 is offered to the full-time 

15 employees (within the meaning of section 

16 4980H of such Code) of the employer; 

17 (ii) whether such coverage is offered 

18 to part-time employees of the employer; 

19 (iii) whether such coverage is offered 

20 to dependents of employees; 

21 (iv) whether such coverage is offered 

22 to spouses of employees; 

23 (v) whether such coverage meets the 

24 minimum value requirement of section 

25 36B(c)(2)(C)(ii) of such Code; 


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1 (vi) whether such coverage satisfies 

2 the requirements to qualify for one of the 

3 affordability safe harbors promulgated by 

4 the Secretary of the Treasury for purposes 

5 of section 4980H of such Code; and 

6 (vii) whether the employer reasonably 

7 expects to be liable for any shared respon8 sibility payment under section 4980H of 

9 such Code for such year; 

10 (C) the months during the prospective re11 porting period that such coverage is available to 

12 individuals described in clauses (i) through (iv) 

13 of subparagraph (B); 

14 (D) what waiting periods, if any, apply 

15 with respect to such coverage; and 

16 (E) a list of all employer identification 

17 numbers of the employer for entities that em18 ploy employees within the employers control 

19 group under subsection (b), (c), (m), or (o) of 

20 section 414 of the Internal Revenue Code for 

21 1986; 

22 (2) processes necessary to ensure that Ex23 changes, the Federal Marketplace Data Services 

24 Hub, and the Internal Revenue Service can securely 

25 and confidentially access the information described 


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1 in paragraph (1) as necessary to carry out their re2 spective missions, and to provide to the Secretary of 

3 Health and Human Services additional information 

4 relating to eligibility determinations for advance pay5 ment of the premium tax credits under section 36B 

6 of such Code and the cost-sharing subsidies under 

7 section 1402 of the Patient Protection and Afford8 able Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18071); 

9 (3) a process to allow Exchanges to follow up 

10 with employers in order to obtain additional reason11 ably necessary information relating to an employee’s 

12 eligibility for such advance payment or such cost13 sharing subsidies, and to allow an employee to re14 ceive notification of any problem in verifying such 

15 eligibility; and 

16 (4) a process to allow employers using the sys17 tem to provide timely updates to the Federal Mar18 ketplace Data Services Hub regarding any cancella19 tion of coverage or significant change in coverage for 

20 participating employees that would change the infor21 mation reported under paragraph (1). 

22 (c) EMPLOYER NOTIFICATION OF EMPLOYEE EN23 ROLLMENT IN EXCHANGE PLANS.—Subparagraph (J) of 

24 section 1311(d)(4) of the Patient Protection and Afford25 able Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18031(d)(4)(J)) is amended by 


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1 striking ‘‘to each employer’’ and all that follows through 

2 ‘‘(and the effective date of such cessation); and’’ and in3 serting ‘‘to each employer— 

4 ‘‘(i) the name of each employee of the 

5 employer who enrolls in a qualified health 

6 plan for a plan year, or whose dependents 

7 enroll in such a plan, at the time of such 

8 enrollment; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) the name of each employee of the 

10 employer described in subparagraph (I)(ii) 

11 who ceases coverage under a qualified 

12 health plan during a plan year (and the ef13 fective date of such cessation); and’’. 

14 (d) EXEMPTION FROM REPORTING REQUIREMENT

15 UNDER INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF 1986.—Section 

16 6056 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended 

17 by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (g) and by 

18 inserting after subsection (e) the following new subsection: 

19 ‘‘(f) EXEMPTION.—If, through the system created 

20 pursuant to section 3(a) of the Commonsense Reporting 

21 Act of 2023, an employer provides prospective reporting 

22 for any calendar year that meets the requirements of sec23 tion 3(b)(1) of such Act, such employer shall be treated 

24 as satisfying the return requirements of subsections (a), 

25 (b), and (c) for such year.’’. 


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1 (e) THIRD-PARTY FILING.—An employer may con2 tract with a third party to make the report under sub3 section (b)(1) without affecting the employer’s treatment 

4 as having satisfied the return requirements of subsections 

5 (a) and (b) of section 6056 of the Internal Revenue Code 

6 of 1986. 

7 (f) ACCESS TO THE NATIONAL DIRECTORY OF NEW

8 HIRES.—Subsection (i)(3) of section 453 of the Social Se9 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 653) is amended by adding at the 

10 end the following new sentence: ‘‘The Secretary of the 

11 Treasury and the Secretary of Health and Human Serv12 ices shall have access to the information in the National 

13 Directory of New Hires for purposes of administering sec14 tion 36B and 4980H of the Internal Revenue Code of 

15 1986 and section 1402 of the Patient Protection and Af16 fordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18071). Subsection (k)(3) 

17 shall not apply to information received for purposes of the 

18 administration of such sections 36B and 4980H of such 

19 Code and section 1402 of such Act.’’. 

20 (g) IMPROVING EMPLOYEE ACCESS TO ACCURATE

21 EINS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enact22 ment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall de23 velop and implement guidance for allowing any employee 

24 of an employer to receive, on request, the employer’s em25 ployer identification number for purposes of section 6056 


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1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Employers shall 

2 provide the employer’s employer identification number for 

3 purposes of section 6056 of the Internal Revenue Code 

4 of 1986 on employee pay statements. 

5 (h) FUNDING FOR VOLUNTARY PROSPECTIVE RE6 PORTING SYSTEM.—There is authorized to be appro7 priated to the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary 

8 of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Labor, 

9 and the Administrator of the Small Business Administra10 tion such sums as are necessary to carry out this section. 

11 SEC. 4. PROTECTION OF DEPENDENT PRIVACY. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 6055(b) 

13 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by add14 ing at the end the following flush sentence: 

15 ‘‘For purposes of subparagraph (B)(i), in the case of 

16 an individual other than the primary insured, if the health 

17 insurance issuer or the employer is unable to collect or 

18 maintain information on the TINs of such individuals 

19 (other than for purposes of this section), the Secretary 

20 may allow the individual’s full name and date of birth to 

21 be substituted for the name and TIN. In the event the 

22 Secretary allows the use of the individual’s full name and 

23 date of birth in lieu of the TIN, the Social Security Ad24 ministration shall assist the Internal Revenue Service in 

25 providing data matches to determine the TIN associated 


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1 with the name and date of birth provided by the Internal 

2 Revenue Service with respect to such individual.’’. 

3 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

4 this section shall apply to returns the due date for which 

5 is after the date that is 60 days after the date of the enact6 ment of this Act. 

7 SEC. 5. ELECTRONIC STATEMENTS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (c) of section 6056 of 

9 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding 

10 at the end the following new paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(3) ELECTRONIC DELIVERY.—An individual 

12 shall be deemed to have consented to receive the 

13 statement under this subsection in electronic form if 

14 such individual has affirmatively consented at any 

15 prior time, to the person who is the employer of the 

16 individual during the calendar year to which the 

17 statement relates, to receive such statement in elec18 tronic form. The preceding sentence shall not apply 

19 if the individual revokes consent in writing with re20 spect to the statement under this subsection.’’. 

21 (b) STATEMENTS RELATING TO HEALTH INSURANCE

22 COVERAGE.—Subsection (c) of section 6055 of the Inter23 nal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the 

24 end the following new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(3) ELECTRONIC DELIVERY.—An individual 

2 shall be deemed to have consented to receive the 

3 statement under this subsection in electronic form if 

4 such individual has affirmatively consented at any 

5 prior time, to the person required to make such 

6 statement (such as the provider of the individual’s 

7 health coverage), to receive in electronic form any 

8 private health information (such as electronic health 

9 records), unless the individual revokes such consent 

10 in writing.’’. 

11 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

12 this section shall apply to statements the due date for 

13 which is after December 31, 2023. 

14 SEC. 6. TIME FOR APPEAL. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4980H(d) of the Internal 

16 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end 

17 the following new paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(4) TIME FOR APPEAL.—The Secretary shall 

19 allow an applicable large employer 90 days from the 

20 date of the first letter which allows the employer an 

21 opportunity for administrative review of a proposed 

22 employer shared responsibility payment under this 

23 section by the Internal Revenue Service Independent 

24 Office of Appeals to appeal the proposed assessment 


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1 of such payment before issuing the notice and de2 mand for payment under paragraph (1).’’. 

3 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

4 this section shall apply to assessments in taxable years be5 ginning after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

6 SEC. 7. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS ON PENALTY ASSESS7 MENT. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4980H(d) of the Internal 

9 Revenue Code of 1986, as amended by section 6, is 

10 amended by adding at the end the following new para11 graph: 

12 ‘‘(5) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS ON PENALTY

13 ASSESSMENT.—With respect to an assessment of an 

14 assessable payment under paragraph (1), the statu15 tory period for such assessment shall expire at the 

16 end of the 3-year period beginning on the date the 

17 employer files the return under section 6056 for the 

18 calendar year with respect to which such payment is 

19 determined.’’. 

20 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

21 this section shall apply to proposed assessments with re22 spect to which a letter described in section 4980H(d)(4) 

23 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by this 

24 section) is issued in taxable years beginning after the date 


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1 which is 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 

2 Act. 

3 SEC. 8. GAO STUDIES. 

4 (a) STUDY OF FIRST YEARS OF EMPLOYER REPORT5 ING.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 

7 the United States shall conduct a study that evalu8 ates, with respect to the period beginning on Janu9 ary 1, 2015, and ending on December 31, 2022— 

10 (A) the notification of employers by Ex11 changes established under title I of the Patient 

12 Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public 

13 Law 111–148) that a full-time employee of the 

14 employer has been determined eligible for ad15 vance payment of premium tax credits under 

16 section 36B of the Internal Revenue Code of 

17 1986 or cost-sharing subsidies under section 

18 1402 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 18071), including 

19 information regarding— 

20 (i) the data elements included in the 

21 employer notification; 

22 (ii) the process by which the notifica23 tion forms were developed and sent to em24 ployers, including whether the process proVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:31 Apr 20, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1264.IH H1264

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1 vided for a formal notice and comment pe2 riod; 

3 (iii) whether employers report that 

4 such notifications provided sufficient and 

5 relevant information for them to make ap6 propriate decisions about whether to utilize 

7 the appeals process; 

8 (iv) the total number of notifications 

9 sent to employers and the timeline of when 

10 such notifications were sent; 

11 (v) differences in the notification proc12 ess between the marketplace facilitated by 

13 the Federal Government and the State14 Based Marketplaces; and 

15 (vi) challenges that have arisen in the 

16 notification process, and recommendations 

17 to address these challenges; and 

18 (B) the extent to which the Secretary of 

19 Health and Human Services has established a 

20 separate appeals process for employers who re21 ceived such a notification to challenge the eligi22 bility determination, as required by section 

23 1411(f)(2) of the Patient Protection and Af24 fordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18081(f)(2)). 


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1 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

2 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

3 General shall submit to the Committees on Finance 

4 and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 

5 Senate and the Committees on Ways and Means, 

6 Energy and Commerce, and Education and the 

7 Workforce of the House of Representatives a report 

8 on the results of the study conducted under para9 graph (1). 

10 (b) STUDY OF PROSPECTIVE REPORTING SYSTEM.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 

12 the United States shall conduct a study that evalu13 ates, with respect to the period beginning on Janu14 ary 1, 2024, and ending on December 31, 2024, the 

15 functionality of the prospective reporting system es16 tablished pursuant to section 3, including the accu17 racy of information collected, the number of employ18 ers electing to report under such system, and any 

19 challenges that have arisen in implementing such 

20 system. 

21 (2) REPORT.—Not later than July 1, 2025, the 

22 Comptroller General shall submit to the Committees 

23 on Finance and Health, Education, Labor, and Pen24 sions of the Senate and the Committees on Ways 

25 and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education 


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1 and the Workforce of the House of Representatives 

2 a report on the results of the study conducted under 

3 paragraph (1). 

4 SEC. 9. TAX COMPLIANCE. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6724(d)(1)(B)(xxv) of the 

6 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting 

7 ‘‘or, in the case of an employer to which section 6056(f) 

8 applies, section 3(b)(1) of the Commonsense Reporting 

9 Act of 2023’’ before ‘‘, or’’. 

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

11 this section shall apply to returns required to be filed after 

12 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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