# Plain Language Summary: Paperwork Burden Reduction Act

This bill changes how health insurance companies and employers send you paperwork about your insurance coverage. Right now, they're required to mail or deliver written statements to everyone automatically. Under this new bill, they could instead just notify you that the statement is available and wait for you to request it. You'd only get the actual document if you ask for it.

The change applies to two main types of statements. First, there are statements from health insurance providers that report your coverage information to the IRS (used to verify you had insurance). Second, there are statements from employers with 50 or more workers that show what health benefits they offered. Instead of automatically sending these to everyone, companies could simply tell you that you can request one if you need it. If you do ask for it, they'd have to send it to you within 30 days or by January 31st of the following year, whichever comes later.

The practical effect is that fewer pieces of paper will be mailed out automatically, which is why it's called a "paperwork burden reduction" bill. However, this means you need to be proactive—if you don't request your statement, you won't receive it. This could be a problem if you need the document for tax purposes or other reasons but forget to ask for it. The bill takes effect for statements related to coverage in 2024 and beyond.

Paperwork Burden Reduction Act

Smith, Jason

Paperwork Burden Reduction Act This bill modifies provisions under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act so that employers and health insurance providers are no longer required to send tax forms to covered individuals showing proof of minimum essential coverage (1095-B and 1095-C tax forms) unless a form is requested. Currently, employers and health insurance providers that provide minimum essential coverage must report this information for each covered individual to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and provide a copy of this information to the covered individual (through 1095-B and 1095-C tax forms) by January 31 of each year. The IRS allows for 1095-B tax forms, which are sent by certain health insurance providers and employers, to be made available to individuals only upon request. The bill provides statutory authority for this flexibility and extends this flexibility to 1095-C tax forms, which are sent by certain large employers. Such requests must be fulfilled by January 31 or 30 days after the date of the request, whichever is later. Employers and health insurance providers must give individuals timely notice of this option, in accordance with any requirements set by the IRS.