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[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1996 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1996

    To streamline the employer reporting process and strengthen the 
eligibility verification process for the premium assistance tax credit 
                       and cost-sharing subsidy.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 5, 2015

Mr. Warner (for himself and Mr. Portman) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
    To streamline the employer reporting process and strengthen the 
eligibility verification process for the premium assistance tax credit 
                       and cost-sharing subsidy.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Commonsense Reporting Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue 
        Service should work together with other relevant departments 
        and agencies to identify and implement methods to minimize 
        compliance burdens on businesses, insurance carriers, and 
        individuals.
            (2) Such collaboration should strike an appropriate balance 
        between sufficient reporting to enforce the law and protecting 
        the privacy of individuals.

SEC. 3. VOLUNTARY PROSPECTIVE REPORTING SYSTEM.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation 
with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of 
Labor, and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, 
shall develop and implement guidance providing for a prospective 
reporting system meeting the requirements of subsection (b). Such 
system shall be available for use by employers on a voluntary basis 
beginning not later than January 1, 2017.
    (b) Requirements.--The system created under subsection (a) shall 
include--
            (1) voluntary reporting by each participating employer, not 
        later than 45 days before the first day of the annual open 
        enrollment period under section 1311(c)(6)(B) of the Patient 
        Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18031(c)(6)(B)) 
        for each calendar year, of--
                    (A) the name and employer identification number of 
                the employer;
                    (B) a certification of--
                            (i) whether coverage meeting the definition 
                        of minimum essential coverage in section 
                        5000A(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
                        is offered to the full-time employees (within 
                        the meaning of section 4980H of such Code) of 
                        the employer;
                            (ii) whether such coverage is offered to 
                        part-time employees of the employer;
                            (iii) whether such coverage is offered to 
                        dependents of employees;
                            (iv) whether such coverage is offered to 
                        spouses of employees;
                            (v) whether such coverage meets the minimum 
                        value requirement of section 36B(c)(2)(C)(ii) 
                        of such Code;
                            (vi) whether such coverage satisfies the 
                        requirements to qualify for one of the 
                        affordability safe harbors promulgated by the 
                        Secretary of the Treasury for purposes of 
                        section 4980H of such Code; and
                            (vii) whether the employer reasonably 
                        expects to be liable for any shared 
                        responsibility payment under section 4980H of 
                        such Code for such year;
                    (C) the months during the prospective reporting 
                period that such coverage is available to individuals 
                described in clauses (i) through (iv) of subparagraph 
                (B); and
                    (D) what waiting periods, if any, apply with 
                respect to such coverage;
            (2) processes necessary to ensure that Exchanges, the 
        Federal Marketplace Data Services Hub, and the Internal Revenue 
        Service can securely and confidentially access the information 
        described in paragraph (1) as necessary to carry out their 
        respective missions, and to provide to the Secretary of Health 
        and Human Services additional information relating to 
        eligibility determinations for advance payment of the premium 
        tax credits under section 36B of such Code and the cost-sharing 
        subsidies under section 1402 of the Patient Protection and 
        Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18071);
            (3) a process to allow Exchanges to follow up with 
        employers in order to obtain additional reasonably necessary 
        information relating to an employee's eligibility for such 
        advance payment or such cost-sharing subsidies, and to allow an 
        employee to receive notification of any problem in verifying 
        such eligibility; and
            (4) a process to allow employers using the system to 
        provide timely updates to the Federal Marketplace Data Services 
        Hub regarding any cancellation of coverage or significant 
        change in coverage for participating employees that would 
        change the information reported under paragraph (1).
    (c) Employer Notification of Employee Enrollment in Exchange 
Plans.--Subparagraph (J) of section 1311(d)(4) of the Patient 
Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18031(d)(4)(J)) is 
amended by striking ``to each employer'' and all that follows and 
inserting ``to each employer--
                            ``(i) the name of each employee of the 
                        employer who enrolls in a qualified health plan 
                        for a plan year, or whose dependents enroll in 
                        such a plan, at the time of such enrollment; or
                            ``(ii) the name of each employee of the 
                        employer described in subparagraph (I)(ii) who 
                        ceases coverage under a qualified health plan 
                        during a plan year (and the effective date of 
                        such cessation); and''.
    (d) Exemption From Reporting Requirement Under Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986.--Section 6056 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
amended by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (g) and by 
inserting after subsection (e) the following new subsection:
    ``(f) Exemption.--If, through the system created under section 3(a) 
of the Commonsense Reporting Act of 2015, an employer provides 
prospective reporting for any calendar year that meets the requirements 
of section 3(b)(1) of such Act--
            ``(1) such employer shall be treated as satisfying the 
        return requirements of subsections (a) and (b) for such year; 
        and
            ``(2) such employer shall be treated as satisfying the 
        requirements of subsection (c) for such year if the employer--
                    ``(A) furnishes the statement described in such 
                section to those employees of the employer whose names 
                have been provided to the employer by an Exchange under 
                section 1311(d)(4)(J)(i) of the Patient Protection and 
                Affordable Care Act regarding enrollment of the 
                employee or a dependent in a qualified health plan (as 
                defined in section 1301 of such Act) through the 
                Exchange; and
                    ``(B) furnishes a copy of such statement with 
                respect to such employees to the Secretary.''.
    (e) Third-Party Filing.--An employer may contract with a third 
party to make the report under subsection (b)(1) without affecting the 
employer's treatment as having satisfied the return requirements of 
subsections (a) and (b) of section 6056 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986.
    (f) Access to the National Directory of New Hires.--Subsection 
(i)(3) of section 453 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 653) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: ``The 
Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services shall have access to the information in the National Directory 
of New Hires for purposes of administering section 36B and 4980H of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and section 1402 of the Patient 
Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18071). Subsection (k)(3) 
shall not apply to information received for purposes of the 
administration of such sections 36B and 4980H of such Code and section 
1402 of such Act.''.
    (g) Improving Employee Access to Accurate EINs.--Not later than 1 
year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the 
Treasury shall develop and implement guidance for allowing any employee 
of an employer to receive, on request, the employer's employer 
identification number for purposes of section 6056 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986.
    (h) Funding for Voluntary Prospective Reporting System.--It is the 
sense of Congress that building and maintaining the voluntary 
prospective reporting system described in this section will require 
appropriations to the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Labor, and the 
Administrator of the Small Business Administration, and that necessary 
sums to carry out the requirements of this section should be 
appropriated for such purpose.

SEC. 4. PROTECTION OF DEPENDENT PRIVACY.

    (a) In General.--Paragraph (1) of section 6055(b) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following 
flush sentence:
        ``For purposes of subparagraph (B)(i), in the case of an 
        individual other than the primary insured, if the health 
        insurance issuer or the employer is unable to collect or 
        maintain information on the TINs of such individuals (other 
        than for purposes of this section), the Secretary may allow the 
        individual's full name and date of birth to be substituted for 
        the name and TIN. In the event the Secretary allows the use of 
        the individual's full name and date of birth in lieu of the 
        TIN, the Social Security Administration shall assist the 
        Internal Revenue Service in providing data matches to determine 
        the TIN associated with the name and date of birth provided by 
        the Internal Revenue Service with respect to such 
        individual.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall apply 
to returns the due date for which is after the date that is 60 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 5. ELECTRONIC STATEMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Subsection (c) of section 6056 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following 
flush sentence:
``An individual shall be deemed to have consented to receive the 
statement under this section in electronic form if such individual has 
affirmatively consented at any prior time, to the person who is the 
employer of the individual during the calendar year to which the 
statement relates, to receive such statement in electronic form. The 
preceding sentence shall not apply if the individual revokes consent in 
writing with respect to the statement under this section.''.
    (b) Statements Relating to Health Insurance Coverage.--Subsection 
(c) of section 6055 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by 
adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(3) Electronic delivery.--An individual shall be deemed 
        to have consented to receive the statement under this 
        subsection in electronic form if such individual has 
        affirmatively consented at any prior time, to the person 
        required to make such statement (such as the provider of the 
        individual's health coverage), to receive in electronic form 
        any private health information (such as electronic health 
        records), unless the individual revokes such consent in 
        writing.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to statements the due date for which is after December 31, 2015.

SEC. 6. GAO STUDIES.

    (a) Study of Prospective Reporting System.--Not later than July 1, 
2018, the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a 
study evaluating, with respect to the period beginning on January 1, 
2017, and ending on December 31, 2017, the functionality of the 
prospective reporting system established under section 3 of this Act, 
including the accuracy of information collected, the number of 
employers electing to report under such system, and any challenges that 
have arisen.
    (b) Report.--The results of the study under subsection (a) shall be 
reported to the Committees on Finance and Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions of the Senate and the Committees on Ways and Means, Energy and 
Commerce, and Education and the Workforce of the House of 
Representatives.
                                 <all>
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