Health law reporting extension issued for employers

WASHINGTON – The Treasury Department on Monday gave employers an extension of critical reporting requirements, as it seeks to manage some of the most complicated parts of the federal health care law.

Employers had previously faced deadlines in February and March to report 2015 health insurance information to their employees, and also to the IRS.

If they need more time, employers can now have until March 31 to get information to their workers and until June 30 in certain cases to get details to the IRS.

Treasury said it acted after many employers complained they might not be able to get the information processed in time. Companies that rely on outside vendors were running into a bottleneck.

“It’s a limited extension to make the system work as smoothly as possible,” Treasury senior adviser Mark Iwry said. The extension also applies to health insurance companies facing similar reporting requirements.

The information is needed to enforce the health law’s requirement that individuals carry insurance, to administer its subsidies for premiums and to apply its requirement that larger employers offer coverage. Employers and insurers are filing the annual reports for the first time, as required by the health law.