Government pushes back healthcare reporting deadlines

The Associated Industries of Massachusetts said deadline extensions for federal healthcare reporting are good news for businesses trying to comply with new regulations. AIM president Richard C. Lord is shown here.

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By Laura Finaldi

The federal government last week extended several health care reform-related reporting deadlines, which an industry group said is good news for companies struggling to comply with the complex filing regulations put forth by the Affordable Care Act.

Employers now have until March 31 to provide detailed form 1095-C to employees who had an offer of insurance or worked 130 hours over any month during 2015. The form requires an extensive look into an employee’s prior year W-2 earnings, eligibility periods, enrollment or waiver of health insurance, and other factors, according to Affordable Care Act (ACA) regulations.

The deadline for form 1095-B -- for self-insured plans -- was also pushed back to the last day of March, and the deadline for IRS filings was also extended. Employers now have until May 31 to transmit information to the revenue service, or until June 30 for electronic filings.

According to a press release from Associated Industries of Massachusetts, the extension will give employers more time to comply with the ACA’s standards.

Before extending the deadlines to everyone, the IRS previously allowed employers to request two 30-day extensions.