PCORI Filing Deadline Looming

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The Affordable Care Act imposes fees on issuers of specified health insurance policies and plan sponsors of applicable self-insured health plans to help fund the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). PCORI is responsible for conducting research to evaluate and compare the health outcomes and clinical effectiveness, risks, and benefits of medical treatments, services, procedures, and drugs.
Plan sponsors must pay the PCORI fee by July 31 of the calendar year immediately following the last day of that plan year.
  • Policy Or Plan Ending Date in the months of: Jan. 2018 – Sept. 2018
    File return no later than: 7/31/2019
    Applicable rate: $2.39
  • Policy Or Plan Ending Date in the months of: Oct. 2018 – Dec. 2018
    File return no later than: 7/31/2019
    Applicable rate: $2.45
  • Policy Or Plan Ending Date in the months of: Jan. 2019 – Sept. 2019
    File return no later than: 7/31/2020
    Applicable rate: $2.45
PCORI fees are reported annually on the 2nd quarter Form 720 and paid by its due date, July 31st. The fees are based on the average number of lives covered under the policy or plan.

The types of plans that must pay the PCORI Fees by July 31, 2019 include the following

  • Health/accident plans
  • HRAs with a plan year that began 1/1/2013 that are not an excepted benefit (Employer contribution is greater than $500)
  • Health FSAs with a plan year that began 1/1/2013 that are not an IRS excepted benefit (Plan has employer contributions with the maximum reimbursement greater than two times an employee’s salary reduction election or employer contribution is greater than $500)
  • Retiree plans

Please Note that the PCORI fee is nearing the end:

The PCORI fee will not be assessed for plan years ending after September 30, 2019. This means that for calendar year plans, the last year for assessment is the 2018 calendar year. For non-calendar year plans that end between January 1, 2019 and September 30, 2019, there were be one last PCORI payment due by July 31, 2020. There will not be any PCORI fee for plan years that end on October 1, 2019 or after.

Please click on the links below to access Form 720 and Form 720 instructions.