§6055 Reporting of health insurance coverage

Summary

Anyone who provides minimum essential health coverage to someone during a calendar year must file a report with the IRS in the form and at the time the IRS requires. The report must give the insured person’s name, address, and taxpayer ID, the names and taxpayer IDs of others on the policy, and the dates each person had coverage. If the coverage is health insurance, the report must say whether it was a qualified health plan sold through an Exchange. For those qualified plans, the report must show any advance payments, cost‑sharing reductions, or premium tax credits tied to the coverage. Employers’ group plans must also show the employer’s name, address, employer ID number, the employer’s share of the premium, and any extra information the IRS needs for the small‑employer credit. The provider must give each covered person a written statement with the same information and a contact phone number. That statement must be given by January 31 of the year after the coverage year. Instead of sending every statement automatically, a provider can give notice that people can request a copy and then must send it by the later of January 31 or 30 days after the request. A person is treated as agreeing to get the statement electronically only if they previously said yes, and they can revoke that consent in writing. For government coverage, the official who agrees to provide the coverage must file the reports. “Minimum essential coverage” is defined under section 5000A(f).