There is a nominal fee due for certain employers and health insurance companies as part of the new health care law. It is called the PCORI fee and it is due annually on July 31st beginning this year in 2013. The fee is not much but it does add to compliance burdens and the normal penalties for failure to file and failure to pay taxes. The fee which amounts to a $1 per insured person is tax deductible as an ordinary business expense. The fee primarily affects employers that self insure and health insurance companies.
Check out this chart from the IRS to see who is required to pay this fee:
|
Type of insurance coverage or arrangement |
Subject to PCORI fee? |
Person responsible for paying and reporting the fee |
| Accident and health coverage or major medical insurance coverage | Yes |
|
| Retiree-only health or major medical coverage | Yes |
|
| Health or major medical coverage under multiple policies or plans | Yes |
|
| COBRA coverage | Yes |
|
| Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA), including a premium-only HRA | Yes, unless the arrangement satisfies the requirements for being treated as an excepted benefit |
|
| Flexible Spending Arrangement (FSA) | Yes, unless arrangement satisfies requirements for being treated as excepted benefit |
|
| State & local government health or major medical plans for employees and/or retirees | Yes |
|
| Stand-alone dental or vision coverage | No | |
| Group insurance policy designed and issued specifically to cover primarily employees working and residing outside the U.S. | No | |
| Self-insured health plan designed specifically to cover primarily employees who are working/ residing outside the U.S. | No | |
| Medicare | No | |
| Medicaid | No | |
| Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) | No | |
| Military health plans established by federal law to provide medical care (other than through insurance policies) to individuals (spouses or dependents) by reason of the individual being (or having been) a member of the Armed Forces of the U.S. | No | |
| Certain Indian tribal government health plans (programs established by federal law to provide medical care other than through insurance policies) | No | |
| Health Savings Arrangements (HSAs) | No | |
| Archer Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs) | No | |
| Hospital indemnity or specified illness benefits | No | |
| Stop-loss or indemnity reinsurance | No | |
| Employee assistance programs, disease management programs, or wellness programs | No, if the program doesn’t provide significant benefits in the nature of medical care or treatment | |
| Accident-only coverage (including accidental death and dismemberment) | No | |
| Disability income coverage | No | |
| Automobile medical payment coverage | No | |
| Workers’ compensation or similar coverage | No | |
| On-site medical clinic | No |
Read this article for details on what the fee is proposed to pay for and more information on who is subject to this fee. http://www.bizactions.com/n.cfm/page/e105/key/236086523G565J1976948P0P10245999T0/
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