This Compliance Overview summarizes a number of the notice and disclosure requirements that apply to group health plans and employers under federal laws. For example, this overview describes notice and disclosure requirements under:
- The Affordable Care Act (ACA)
- COBRA
- ERISA
- The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
- The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA)
- HIPAA
- Medicare Part D
- Other federal laws, such as the Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act (WHCRA)
Required Notices
Group health plan sponsors must comply with numerous reporting and disclosure requirements.
Each notice or disclosure has its own timing requirements.
Although some notice and disclosure requirements apply to all employers, others only apply to certain employers.
Model forms are available for many required disclosures.
Examples
Some of the main notice and disclosure requirements for group health plans are:
- The summary plan description (SPD)
- COBRA notices
- ACA employee statements
- Medicare Part D notices of creditable coverage
- Form 5500
Links and Resources
- Department of Labor’s (DOL) website regarding compliance assistance for health plans, which includes links to many model forms and notices.
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website for tax forms and instructions.
- Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) website regarding Medicare Part D disclosures.
