ERIC Helps to Delay 2015 Information Reporting Requirements

For Immediate Release

Washington, DC – The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC), the only national association advocating solely for the employee benefit and compensation interests of America’s largest employers, is pleased the U.S. Treasury Department is providing employers and employees with a 60-day delay for the 2015 information reporting requirements. ERIC called for the delay in a December 17, 2016 letter to the Treasury Department.

“I am thrilled that companies will receive this desperately needed relief from the very complicated and onerous filing and furnishing requirements,” said Gretchen Young, Senior Vice President of Health Policy, ERIC. “It is great that the government was so responsive to our urgent and continuing requests for a delay.”

The forms and instructions used to report health plan coverage information to employees and to the government –in accordance with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) rules under sections 6055 and 6056 of the Internal Revenue Code –are extremely complicated and burdensome. The process required to simply collect the information necessary to complete the forms is arduous and one that employers have never before attempted.

In addition to the challenges of creating the infrastructure necessary to track and report the required information for potentially millions of individuals, companies have faced further obstacles, including difficulty in identifying vendors who could assist them with the reporting.   Many companies also found that the “simplification” methods created by the final regulations were not available to them, and the forms and instructions were not finalized until late in the year.  Further, many basic questions concerning completion of the form have yet to be clarified.

“While ERIC and its members are pleased with today’s announcement, we continue to be concerned about the horrendous burdens placed on health plans by the ACA. The countless new rules and regulations imposed by the ACA created huge financial and administrative complexities for employers, diverting focus and funds away from health plans” said Young. “We will continue to try to eliminate or minimize these burdens wherever possible next year and in the years ahead.”

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All media inquiries to The ERISA Industry Committee should be directed to media@eric.org.

About The ERISA Industry Committee
ERIC is a national advocacy organization that exclusively represents large employers that provide health, retirement, paid leave, and other benefits to their nationwide workforces. With member companies that are leaders in every sector of the economy, ERIC advocates on the federal, state, and local levels for policies that promote flexibility and uniformity in the administration of their employee benefit plans.