IRS Health Care Tax Tip 2015-61, October 1, 2015 The Affordable Care Act requires any person or organization that provides minimum essential coverage, including employers that provide self-insured group health plans, to report this coverage to the IRS and furnish statements to the covered individuals. These reporting requirements affect: Health insurance issuers or carriers The executive department or agency of a governmental unit that provides coverage under a government-sponsored program Plan sponsors of self-insured group health plan coverage Sponsors of coverage that the Department of Health and Human Services has designated as minimum essential coverage For purposes of reporting by applicable large employers, minimum essential coverage means coverage under an employer-sponsored plan. Minimum essential coverage does not include fixed indemnity coverage, life insurance or dental or vision coverage. Minimum essential coverage does include: Government-sponsored programs Medicare part A, most Medicaid programs, CHIP, most TRICARE, most VA programs, Peace Corps, DOD Non-appropriated Fund Program Employer sponsored coverage In general, any plan that is a group health plan under ERISA, which includes both insured and self-insured health plans. Importantly, employer plans that cover solely excepted benefits, such as stand-alone vision or dental plans, are not MEC Individual market coverage Includes qualified health plans enrolled in through the federally facilitated and state-based marketplaces and most health insurance purchased individually and directly from an insurance company Grandfathered plans Generally, any plan that existed before the ACA became effective and has not changed Miscellaneous MEC Other health benefits coverage recognized by the Department of Health and Human Services as MEC For more information, see our Questions and Answers on Information Reporting by Health Coverage Providers on IRS.gov/aca. Subscribe to IRS Tax Tips to get easy-to-read tips by e-mail from the IRS. Related HealthCare.gov Individual shared responsibility provision The Premium Tax Credit – The basics Affordable Care Act – What to expect when filing your tax return Gathering your health coverage documentation for the tax filing season ACA information center for tax professionals How to correct an electronically filed return rejected for a missing Form 8962