The Internal Revenue Service released an advance copy of a set of proposed regulations that can help taxpayers, employers and insurers navigate the complex tax rules surrounding COVID-19 testing and health insurance coverage.
The proposed regulations also have a bearing on the “minimum essential coverage” rules of the Affordable Care Act of 2010. They provide an automatic extension of time for providers of minimum essential coverage to furnish individual statements regarding such coverage, and an alternative method for furnishing individual statements when the shared responsibility payment amount is zero.
In addition, the proposed regs provide an automatic extension of time for “applicable large employers” (typically those with 50 or more full-time or equivalent employees) to furnish statements relating to health insurance that the employer offers to its full-time employees, as required by the ACA.
The proposed regulations released Monday would affect some taxpayers who claim the premium tax credit, health insurers, self-insured employers, government agencies, and others that provide minimum essential coverage to individuals, as well as large employers.
The proposed regulations clarify some of the guidance issued last year in response to COVID-19 relief legislation. Last year, in
Notice 2020-66 advised the public that the Treasury Department and the IRS intended to amend the regulations to provide more guidance about Medicaid coverage for COVID-19 testing and diagnostic services. In keeping with that, the proposed regulations propose to amend Section 1.5000A-2 by adding Medicaid coverage for COVID-19 testing and diagnostic services to the health coverage areas listed there that don’t qualify as minimum essential coverage under a government-sponsored program.
