Three Obamacare Taxes (And The Paperwork) No One Is Talking About

Forbes - The one-year delay of the tax on businesses which fail to provide health insurance (or adequate health insurance) has led some managers to put the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) out of their mind.  However, there are three other tax and reporting obligations that have taken effect – or will soon take effect – of which businesses need to be aware.

These three are:  a tax to fund the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI); the transitional reinsurance fee; and a tax on insurance companies based on premiums and market share.  Today, I’ll fill you in on the PCORI fee. It was put in place to finance the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), which will conduct research on comparative effectiveness of treatments.  The tax went into effect for 2013 and the first payment was due on July 31.

Who pays the tax?  Insurers and sponsors of self- funded health plans are responsible for reporting and paying the PCORI fee to the IRS.  PCORI fees apply to all group health insurance plans regardless of whether they are sponsored by small or large employers and regardless of  whether the risks are self-funded (meaning while an insurance company administers the plan, the employer, typically a larger one, is on the hook for the medical bills) or fully insured. In the case of fully insured plans,  the insurance carrier is responsible for paying the fee.   More   PTG