(a) In general. An eligible employer-sponsored plan provides minimum value (MV) only if—

(1) The plan's share of the total allowed costs of benefits provided to an employee (the MV percentage) is at least 60 percent; and

(2) [Reserved]

(b) MV standard population. [Reserved]

(c) MV percentage—(1) In general. [Reserved]

(2) Wellness program incentives—(i) In general. Nondiscriminatory wellness program incentives offered by an eligible employer-sponsored plan that affect deductibles, copayments, or other cost-sharing are treated as earned in determining the plan's MV percentage if the incentives relate exclusively to tobacco use. Wellness program incentives that do not relate to tobacco use or that include a component unrelated to tobacco use are treated as not earned for this purpose. For purposes of this section, the term wellness program incentive has the same meaning as the term reward in §54.9802-1(f)(1)(i) of this chapter.

(ii) Example. The following example illustrates the rules of this paragraph (c)(2):

(3) Employer contributions to health savings accounts. Employer contributions for the current plan year to health savings accounts that are offered with an eligible employer-sponsored plan are taken into account for that plan year towards the plan's MV percentage.

(4) Employer contributions to health reimbursement arrangements. Amounts newly made available for the current plan year under a health reimbursement arrangement that would be integrated within the meaning of Notice 2013-54 (2013-40 IRB 287), see §601.601(d) of this chapter, with an eligible employer-sponsored plan for an employee enrolled in the plan are taken into account for that plan year towards the plan's MV percentage if the amounts may be used to reduce only cost-sharing for covered medical expenses. A health reimbursement arrangement counts toward a plan's MV percentage only if the health reimbursement arrangement and the eligible employer-sponsored plan are offered by the same employer. Employer contributions to a health reimbursement arrangement count for a plan year towards the plan's MV percentage only to the extent the amount of the annual contribution is required under the terms of the plan or otherwise determinable within a reasonable time before the employee must decide whether to enroll in the eligible employer-sponsored plan.

(5) Expected spending adjustments for health savings accounts and health reimbursement arrangements. [Reserved]

(d) Methods for determining MV. [Reserved]

(e) Scope of essential health benefits and adjustment for benefits not included in MV Calculator. [Reserved]

(f) Actuarial certification. [Reserved]

(1) In general. [Reserved]

(2) Membership in American Academy of Actuaries. [Reserved]

(3) Actuarial analysis. [Reserved]

(4) Use of MV Calculator. [Reserved]

(g) Effective/applicability date—in general.

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (g)(2) of this section, this section applies for taxable years ending after December 31, 2013.

(2) Exception. [Reserved]

[T.D. 9745, 80 FR 78976, Dec. 18, 2015]