Compliance Bulletin | November 2023

Welcome to the November 2023 edition of the Baldwin Bulletin, a compliance newsletter by the Baldwin Regulatory Compliance Collaborative (BRCC).

The Baldwin Bulletin serves as a monthly guide to important regulatory developments, legal news, and employee benefits-related industry happenings designed to keep you abreast of the latest developments.

This month’s issue focuses on important compliance deadlines that will apply this year, in addition to providing employers with information regarding certain hot-button compliance issues significantly impacting employers.

Upcoming Compliance Deadlines. For information regarding upcoming compliance deadlines for employer-sponsored group health plans, read more here.

Enforcement Safe Harbor for Prescription Drug Machine-Readable File Requirement Rescinded. The U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury (Departments) rescinded two non-enforcement policies with respect to complying with the prescription drug coverage machine-readable file requirements in the Transparency in Coverage Final Rules. Read more here.

Expansion of Price Transparency Comparison Tool for 2024. Beginning. Beginning with the 2024 plan year, group health plans and health insurance issuers must expand the internet-based price comparison tool they make available to participants, beneficiaries, and enrollees to include all covered items, services, and drugs. Read more here.

2024 PCORI Fees Announced. Plan Sponsors of self-insured medical plans, please note that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced that the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) fee amount for plan years ending on or after October 1, 2023, and before October 1, 2024, is $3.22 multiplied by the average number of lives covered under the plan. Read more here.

ACA 2023 Reporting Forms and Instructions Finalized. The IRS has released the final 2023 forms, together with instructions, for reporting under Internal Revenue Code Sections 6055 and 6056. Read more here.

ACA Electronic Filing Reminder. As a reminder, beginning in 2024, most employers will be required to electronically file certain IRS returns, including those required to comply with the employer shared responsibility provisions under the Affordable Care Act.  Read more here.

New HIPAA Penalties Announced. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a final rule increasing the civil monetary penalties for violations of the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules.  Read more here.

Question of the Month. Our “Question of the Month” concerns employer compliance responsibilities under the Medicare Secondary Payer rules. Read more here.