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-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Commonsense Report-
ing Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(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 bur-
dens on businesses, insurance carriers, and individ-
uals. 
(2) Such collaboration should strike an appro-
priate balance between sufficient reporting to en-
force the law and protecting the privacy of individ-
uals. 
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 Admin-
istrator of the Small Business Administration, shall de-
velop 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, 
2020. 
(b) REQUIREMENTS.—The system created under sub-
section (a) shall include— 
(1) voluntary reporting by each participating 
employer that offers minimum essential coverage to 
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its full-time employees and their dependents under 
an eligible employer-sponsored plan, not later than 
45 days before the first day of the annual open en-
rollment 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 for purposes of section 6056 of the In-
ternal Revenue Code of 1986 of the employer; 
(B) a certification of— 
(i) whether coverage meeting the defi-
nition 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; 
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(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 respon-
sibility payment under section 4980H of 
such Code for such year; 
(C) the months during the prospective re-
porting period that such coverage is available to 
individuals described in clauses (i) through (iv) 
of subparagraph (B); 
(D) what waiting periods, if any, apply 
with respect to such coverage; and 
(E) a list of all employer identification 
numbers of the employer for entities that em-
ploy employees within the employers control 
group under subsection (b), (c), (m), or (o) of 
section 414 of the Internal Revenue Code for 
1986; 
(2) processes necessary to ensure that Ex-
changes, the Federal Marketplace Data Services 
Hub, and the Internal Revenue Service can securely 
and confidentially access the information described 
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in paragraph (1) as necessary to carry out their re-
spective missions, and to provide to the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services additional information 
relating to eligibility determinations for advance pay-
ment of the premium tax credits under section 36B 
of such Code and the cost-sharing subsidies under 
section 1402 of the Patient Protection and Afford-
able Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18071); 
(3) a process to allow Exchanges to follow up 
with employers in order to obtain additional reason-
ably necessary information relating to an employee’s 
eligibility for such advance payment or such cost- 
sharing subsidies, and to allow an employee to re-
ceive notification of any problem in verifying such 
eligibility; and 
(4) a process to allow employers using the sys-
tem to provide timely updates to the Federal Mar-
ketplace Data Services Hub regarding any cancella-
tion of coverage or significant change in coverage for 
participating employees that would change the infor-
mation reported under paragraph (1). 
(c) EMPLOYER NOTIFICATION OF EMPLOYEE EN-
ROLLMENT IN EXCHANGE PLANS.—Subparagraph (J) of 
section 1311(d)(4) of the Patient Protection and Afford-
able Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18031(d)(4)(J)) is amended by 
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striking ‘‘to each employer’’ and all that follows through 
‘‘(and the effective date of such cessation); and’’ and in-
serting ‘‘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 ef-
fective 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 
pursuant to section 3(a) of the Commonsense Reporting 
Act of 2019, an employer provides prospective reporting 
for any calendar year that meets the requirements of sec-
tion 3(b)(1) of such Act— 
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‘‘(1) such employer shall be treated as satis-
fying the return requirements of subsections (a) and 
(b) for such year; and 
‘‘(2) such employer shall be treated as satis-
fying 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 em-
ployer 
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 Sec-
retary.’’. 
(e) THIRD-PARTY FILING.—An employer may con-
tract with a third party to make the report under sub-
section (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. 
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(f) ACCESS TO THE NATIONAL DIRECTORY OF NEW 
HIRES.—Subsection (i)(3) of section 453 of the Social Se-
curity 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 Serv-
ices shall have access to the information in the National 
Directory of New Hires for purposes of administering sec-
tion 36B and 4980H of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 and section 1402 of the Patient Protection and Af-
fordable 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 enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall de-
velop and implement guidance for allowing any employee 
of an employer to receive, on request, the employer’s em-
ployer identification number for purposes of section 6056 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Employers shall 
provide the employer’s employer identification number for 
purposes of section 6056 of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986 on one of the following documents of the employ-
er’s election: 
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