Information For ChurchesMASS HEALTH CARE REFORM LAW: HEALTH INSURANCE RESPONSIBILITY DISCLOSURE FORMS
Please pass this along to those individuals in your church who deal with personnel benefits.
Dear Friends, This communication is intended to update you about two kinds of filings required under the new Massachusetts health care reform law. The Commonwealth has tried to make us all aware of these requirements, but full information relevant to churches is not yet readily available, so I am trying to fill in potential gaps in our understanding.
I. Employer HIRD
The new law requires that all employers file a Health Insurance Responsibility Disclosure Form ("Employer HIRD") annually.
Previous instructions from the Commonwealth indicated that this form was required only from employers with at least 11 full time employees (as calculated on the HIRD form itself), but recent instructions have made clear that ALL employers need to complete this form annually. For those with fewer than 11 employees, the form requires very little information - it seems simply to be the Commonwealth's way of annually confirming that the organization still has fewer than 11 employees.
We need to print out and submit the paper version, which is fairly well hidden at the Mass. government website! To get there, first follow this web link:
http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=eohhs2searchlanding&sid=Eeohhs2&query=hird+form&collectorName=EOHHSx
Then, select item #4, titled "DHCFP Regulations", scroll down the page to the section tiled "Health Care Reform Implementation -- Employer Requirements", and select "Health Insurance Responsibility Disclosure (HIRD - Employer and Employee Forms Available)"
When you click on this option, it will bring you to the middle of a document with a section titled "114.5 CMR 18.00 ", and you will see links to Employer and Employee HIRD forms. Clicking on "Employer HIRD Forms" will bring you to a page on this topic.
Scroll down the page to the section titled "FSC-exempt Employer HIRD". There you will find a link to the form itself, and another to the related instructions.
(The final form has a web address much too wide to fit into this email; thus the lengthy instructions.)
The form itself is fairly straightforward, but feel free to contact me if you have questions.
II. Employee HIRD This is relevant only for employers with 11 employees as calculated on the Employer HIRD form.
If the calculation on your Employer HIRD form indicates that your church employs more than 11 employees, the Employee HIRD form must be submitted annually for each full time employee who declines participation in a Section 125 Cafeteria Plan and/or declines health insurance offered by the church. It is not required for employees working less than 35 hours per week, nor for seasonal employees. A Web link to the form may be found by scrolling just a bit further down the page where you ended up when you followed the instructions above. The form has a section for the employer to complete, followed by an employee section which includes an affadavit.
More information about the Mass. health care reform law and its implementation may be found at http://www.mahealthconnector.org/portal/site/connector/. Again, feel free to contact me if you have questions. Dawn Hammond Associate Conference Minister for Policy and Finance
|
Information For ChurchesMASS HEALTH CARE REFORM LAW: HEALTH INSURANCE RESPONSIBILITY DISCLOSURE FORMS
Please pass this along to those individuals in your church who deal with personnel benefits.
Dear Friends, This communication is intended to update you about two kinds of filings required under the new Massachusetts health care reform law. The Commonwealth has tried to make us all aware of these requirements, but full information relevant to churches is not yet readily available, so I am trying to fill in potential gaps in our understanding.
I. Employer HIRD
The new law requires that all employers file a Health Insurance Responsibility Disclosure Form ("Employer HIRD") annually.
Previous instructions from the Commonwealth indicated that this form was required only from employers with at least 11 full time employees (as calculated on the HIRD form itself), but recent instructions have made clear that ALL employers need to complete this form annually. For those with fewer than 11 employees, the form requires very little information - it seems simply to be the Commonwealth's way of annually confirming that the organization still has fewer than 11 employees.
We need to print out and submit the paper version, which is fairly well hidden at the Mass. government website! To get there, first follow this web link:
http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=eohhs2searchlanding&sid=Eeohhs2&query=hird+form&collectorName=EOHHSx
Then, select item #4, titled "DHCFP Regulations", scroll down the page to the section tiled "Health Care Reform Implementation -- Employer Requirements", and select "Health Insurance Responsibility Disclosure (HIRD - Employer and Employee Forms Available)"
When you click on this option, it will bring you to the middle of a document with a section titled "114.5 CMR 18.00 ", and you will see links to Employer and Employee HIRD forms. Clicking on "Employer HIRD Forms" will bring you to a page on this topic.
Scroll down the page to the section titled "FSC-exempt Employer HIRD". There you will find a link to the form itself, and another to the related instructions.
(The final form has a web address much too wide to fit into this email; thus the lengthy instructions.)
The form itself is fairly straightforward, but feel free to contact me if you have questions.
II. Employee HIRD This is relevant only for employers with 11 employees as calculated on the Employer HIRD form.
If the calculation on your Employer HIRD form indicates that your church employs more than 11 employees, the Employee HIRD form must be submitted annually for each full time employee who declines participation in a Section 125 Cafeteria Plan and/or declines health insurance offered by the church. It is not required for employees working less than 35 hours per week, nor for seasonal employees. A Web link to the form may be found by scrolling just a bit further down the page where you ended up when you followed the instructions above. The form has a section for the employer to complete, followed by an employee section which includes an affadavit.
More information about the Mass. health care reform law and its implementation may be found at http://www.mahealthconnector.org/portal/site/connector/. Again, feel free to contact me if you have questions. Dawn Hammond Associate Conference Minister for Policy and Finance
|