For as long as I’ve been banging away on the keyboard about tax and tax policy, I don’t believe I’ve seen anything more polarizing than the “new” health care act which was signed into law last year. From the so-called Cadillac plans to the increased 1099 reporting requirements, no single piece of legislation has generated as much email, comments and downright hullaballoo, as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
It makes sense, really, when you consider that the scope of the law is quite breathtaking. It affects scores of taxpayers on a number of levels – from individuals and small businesses to unions and health insurance giants.
For months, many taxpayers have felt trapped by a law that they (perhaps) don’t understand and (also perhaps) believe that they have not been able to offer their two cents on to those in charge. Well, now, you have your chance. If you have something to say about it, the IRS wants to hear it. Really.
The IRS has announced that they are requesting public comment on the shared responsibility provisions included in the health care act that are slated to take effect in 2014. You may recall that under the new law, “large” employers – those with 50 or more full-time employees – that do not offer affordable health coverage to their full-time employees may be required to make a shared responsibility payment. Employers under 50 employees are exempt from this requirement.
As part of the request for comment, the IRS has posted Notice 2011-36 (downloads as a pdf), explaining how the IRS might define and implement details relating those specific shared responsibility provisions. In particular, the IRS is focusing on the issue of how to define who is a full-time employee and the how best to interpret 90-day limitation on waiting periods for group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group health insurance coverage.
The first question, the definition of how to qualify a full-time employee is key in determining an employer’s liability. The IRS is considering coordinating standards with the Department of Labor to consider a full time employee to be a worker who is employed on average at least 30 hours of service per week. There a number of nuances in the definition which are spelled out in the Notice (Spoiler alert: it’s not your run of the mill beach reading. You might go so far as to call it a little, er, dry.).
The second question focuses on the 90 Day Waiting Period Limitation. Under the new law, a group health plan and health insurance issuer offering group health insurance coverage should not apply any waiting period that exceeds 90 days. That raises the issue of which employees should be included for purposes of the waiting period and how the 90-day limitation should be calculated. The IRS has suggested a number of provisions (and by number, I mean pages and pages).
To be honest, the Notice is a tough read. It’s 22 pages of IRS-speak. That’s like 154 pages in normal taxpayer-speak.
But I firmly believe that you shouldn’t complain after the fact if you’re not willing to speak up when it counts. The IRS is asking for your input on this issue. If you don’t speak up now, it’s on you.
You have three ways to make your voice heard:
- E-mail to: Notice.Comments@irscounsel.treas.gov. Include “Notice 2011-36” in the subject line.
- Mail to: Internal Revenue Service, CC:PA:LPD:PR (Notice 2011-36), Room 5203, P.O. Box 7604, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, DC 20044.
- Hand deliver to: CC:PA:LPD:PR (Notice 2011-36), Courier’s Desk, Internal Revenue Service, 1111 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The deadline for comments is June 17, 2011 which gives you about a month. What are you waiting for?
