ASR Assists Clients with PCORI Fee

ASR Health Benefits is providing our clients with the necessary data to report and pay the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute fee.  Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, plan sponsors of applicable self-funded health plans will owe a fee to fund the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, a private, non-profit corporation established to fund research of the clinical effectiveness of medical treatments, procedures, drugs, and other strategies that treat, manage, diagnose, or prevent illness or injury.  This fee will be payable for plan years ending on or after October 1, 2012 and before October 1, 2019.  The amount of fees payable by the plan sponsor is $1 for each covered life for the 2012 plan year, $2 for each covered life for the 2013 plan year, and an increased amount each year thereafter.  The fee is due by July 31 in the next calendar year after the date the plan year ends.  (Examples: if your plan year ends on October 31, 2012, the fee is due by July 31, 2013; if your plan year ends on December 31, 2012, the fee is due by July 31, 2013; if your plan year ends on January 31, 2013, the fee is due by July 31, 2014.)  Plan sponsors of self-insured plans will report and pay the fees on Form 720, which may be filed electronically (Form 720 is scheduled to be updated by the IRS to address the PCORI fee in the near future).  The IRS has stated that third parties may not file the fee on behalf of a plan sponsor.

ASR is using the snapshot count method to provide our employer groups with the necessary data to meet this obligation.  The snapshot count method is one of the IRS-approved methods to determine the average number of covered lives under the plan (IRB 2012-19 outlines all three approved methods).  This calculation involves adding the total number of lives covered on the first day of each quarter of the plan year and dividing the total by four.  Employers may access their data on the ASR Website by clicking on the PCORI Fee option on the main menu after logging in (listed under the REPORTS\Additional item of the main menu).  Detailed instructions are included on this Website page.

If you have questions about this fee, call ASR Health Benefits at (616) 957-1751 or (800) 968-2449.