26 CFR § 1.45R-4 Uniform percentage of premium paid | Code of Federal Regulations | US Law

26 CFR § 1.45R-4

Uniform percentage of premium paid

June 25, 2020

CFR

(a) In general. An eligible small employer must pay a uniform percentage (not less than 50 percent) of the premium for each employee enrolled in a qualified health plan (QHP) offered to employees by the employer through a small business health options program (SHOP) Exchange.

(b) Employers offering one QHP. An employer that offers a single QHP through a SHOP Exchange must satisfy the requirements of this paragraph (b).

(1) Employers offering one QHP, employee-only coverage, composite billing. For an eligible small employer offering employee-only coverage and using composite billing, the employer satisfies the requirements of this paragraph if it pays the same amount toward the premium for each employee receiving employee-only coverage under the QHP, and that amount is equal to at least 50 percent of the premium for employee-only coverage.

(2) Employers offering one QHP, other tiers of coverage, composite billing. For an eligible small employer offering one QHP providing at least one tier of coverage with a higher premium than employee-only coverage and using composite billing, the employer satisfies the requirements of this paragraph (b)(2) if it either—

(i) Pays an amount for each employee enrolled in that more expensive tier of coverage that is the same for all employees and that is no less than the amount that the employer would have contributed toward employee-only coverage for that employee, or

(ii) Meets the requirements of paragraph (b)(1) of this section for each tier of coverage that if offers.

(3) Employers offering one QHP, employee-only coverage, list billing. For an eligible small employer offering one QHP providing only employee-only coverage and using list billing, the employer satisfies the requirements of this paragraph (b)(3) if either—

(i) The employer pays toward the premium an amount equal to a uniform percentage (not less than 50 percent) of the premium charged for each employee, or

(ii) The employer converts the individual premiums for employee-only coverage into an employer-computed composite rate for self-only coverage, and, if an employee contribution is required, each employee who receives coverage under the QHP pays a uniform amount toward the employee-only premium that is no more than 50 percent of the employer-computed composite rate for employee-only coverage.

(4) Employers offering one QHP, other tiers of coverage, list billing. For an eligible small employer offering one QHP providing at least one tier of coverage with a higher premium than employee-only coverage and using list billing, the employer satisfies the requirements of this paragraph (b)(4) if it either—

(i) Pays toward the premium for each employee covered under each tier of coverage an amount equal to or exceeding the amount that the employer would have contributed with respect to that employee for employee-only coverage, calculated either based upon the actual premium that would have been charged by the insurer for that employee for employee-only coverage or based upon the employer-computed composite rate for employee-only coverage, or

(ii) Meets the requirements of paragraph (b)(3) of this section for each tier of coverage that it offers substituting the employer-computed composite rate for each tier of coverage for the employer-computed composite rate for employee-only coverage.

(5) Employers offering SHOP dependent coverage. If SHOP dependent coverage is offered through the SHOP Exchange, the employer does not fail to satisfy the uniform percentage requirement by contributing a different amount toward that SHOP dependent coverage, even if that contribution is zero. For treatment of premiums paid on behalf of an employee's dependents, see §1.45R-3(g)(1).

(c) Employers offering more than one QHP. If an eligible small employer offers more than one QHP, the employer must satisfy the requirements of this paragraph (c). The employer may satisfy the requirements of this paragraph (c) in either of the following two ways:

(1) QHP-by-QHP method. The employer makes payments toward the premium with respect to each QHP for which the employer is claiming the credit that satisfy the uniform percentage requirement under paragraph (b) of this section on a QHP-by-QHP basis (so that the amounts or percentages of premium paid by the employer for each QHP need not be identical, but the payments with respect to each QHP must satisfy paragraph (b) of this section); or

(2) Reference QHP method. The employer designates a reference QHP and makes employer contributions in accordance with the following requirements—

(i) The employer determines a level of employer contributions for each employee such that, if all eligible employees enrolled in the reference QHP, the contributions would satisfy the uniform percentage requirement under paragraph (b) of this section, and

(ii) The employer allows each employee to apply an amount of employer contribution determined necessary to meet the uniform percentage requirement under paragraph (b) of this section either toward the reference QHP or toward the cost of coverage under any of the other available QHPs.

(d) Tobacco surcharges and wellness program discounts or rebates—(i) Tobacco surcharges. The tobacco surcharge and amounts paid by the employer to cover the surcharge are not included in premiums for purposes of calculating the uniform percentage requirement, nor are payments of the surcharge treated as premium payments for purposes of calculating the credit. The uniform percentage requirement is also applied without regard to employee payment of the tobacco surcharges in cases in which all or part of the employee tobacco surcharges are not paid by the employer.

(ii) Wellness programs. If a plan of an employer provides a wellness program, for purposes of meeting the uniform percentage requirement any additional amount of the employer contribution attributable to an employee's participation in the wellness program over the employer contribution with respect to an employee that does not participate in the wellness program is not taken into account in calculating the uniform percentage requirement, whether the difference is due to a discount for participation or a surcharge for nonparticipation. The employer contribution for employees that do not participate in the wellness program must be at least 50 percent of the premium (including any premium surcharge for nonparticipation). However, for purposes of computing the credit, the employer contributions are taken into account, including those contributions attributable to an employee's participation in a wellness program.

(e) Special rules regarding employer compliance with applicable State or local law. An employer will be treated as satisfying the uniform percentage requirement if the failure to otherwise satisfy the uniform percentage requirement is attributable solely to additional employer contributions made to certain employees to comply with an applicable State or local law.

(f) Examples. The following examples illustrate the provisions of paragraphs (a) through (e) of this section:

Example 1. (i) Facts. An eligible small employer (Employer) offers a QHP on a SHOP Exchange, Plan A, which uses composite billing. The premiums for Plan A are $5,000 per year for employee-only coverage, and $10,000 for family coverage. Employees can elect employee-only or family coverage under Plan A. Employer pays $3,000 (60% of the premium) toward employee-only coverage under Plan A and $6,000 (60% of the premium) toward family coverage under Plan A.

(ii) Conclusion. Employer's contributions of 60% of the premium for each tier of coverage satisfy the uniform percentage requirement.

Example 2. (i) Facts. Same facts as Example 1, except that Employer pays $3,000 (60% of the premium) for each employee electing employee-only coverage under Plan A and pays $3,000 (30% of the premium) for each employee electing family coverage under Plan A.

(ii) Conclusion. Employer's contributions of 60% of the premium toward employee-only coverage and the same dollar amount toward the premium for family coverage satisfy the uniform percentage requirement, even though the percentage is not the same.

Example 3. (i) Facts. Employer offers two QHPs, Plan A and Plan B, both of which use composite billing. The premiums for Plan A are $5,000 per year for employee-only coverage and $10,000 for family coverage. The premiums for Plan B are $7,000 per year for employee-only coverage and $13,000 for family coverage. Employees can elect employee-only or family coverage under either Plan A or Plan B. Employer pays $3,000 (60% of the premium) for each employee electing employee-only coverage under Plan A, $3,000 (30% of the premium) for each employee electing family coverage under Plan A, $3,500 (50% of the premium) for each employee electing employee-only coverage under Plan B, and $3,500 (27% of the premium) for each employee electing family coverage under Plan B.

(ii) Conclusion. Employer's contributions of 60% (or $3,000) of the premiums for employee-only coverage and the same dollar amounts toward the premium for family coverage under Plan A, and of 50% (or $3,500) of the premium for employee-only of coverage and the same dollar amount toward the premium for family coverage under Plan B, satisfy the uniform percentage requirement on a QHP-by-QHP basis; therefore the employer's contributions to both plans satisfy the uniform percentage requirement.

Example 4. (i) Facts. Same facts as Example 3, except that Employer designates Plan A as the reference QHP. Employer pays $2,500 (50% of the premium) for each employee electing employee-only coverage under Plan A and pays $2,500 of the premium for each employee electing family coverage under Plan A or either employee-only or family coverage under Plan B.

(ii) Conclusion. Employer's contribution of 50% (or $2,500) toward the premium of each employee enrolled under Plan A or Plan B satisfies the uniform percentage requirement.

Example 5. (i) Facts. Employer receives a list billing premium quote with respect to Plan X, a QHP offered by Employer on a SHOP Exchange for health insurance coverage for each of Employer's four employees. For Employee L, age 20, the employee-only premium is $3,000 per year, and the family premium is $8,000. For Employees M, N and O, each age 40, the employee-only premium is $5,000 per year and the family premium is $10,000. The total employee-only premium for the four employees is $18,000 ($3,000 + (3 × 5,000)). Employer calculates an employer-computed composite employee-only rate of $4,500 ($18,000/4). Employer offers to make contributions such that each employee would need to pay $2,000 of the premium for employee-only coverage. Under this arrangement, Employer would contribute $1,000 toward employee-only coverage for L and $3,000 toward employee-only coverage for M, N, and O. In the event an employee elects family coverage, Employer would make the same contribution ($1,000 for L or $3,000 for M, N, or O) toward the family premium.

(ii) Conclusion. Employer satisfies the uniform percentage requirement because it offers and makes contributions based on an employer-calculated composite employee-only rate such that, to receive employee-only coverage, each employee must pay a uniform amount which is not more than 50% of the composite rate, and it allows employees to use the same employer contributions toward family coverage.

Example 6. (i) Facts. Same facts as Example 5, except that Employer calculates an employer-computed composite family rate of $9,500 (($8,000 + 3 × 10,000)/4) and requires each employee to pay $4,000 of the premium for family coverage.

(ii) Conclusion. Employer satisfies the uniform percentage requirement because it offers and makes contributions based on a calculated employee-only and family rate such that, to receive either employee-only or family coverage, each employee must pay a uniform amount which is not more than 50% of the composite rate for coverage of that tier.

Example 7. (i) Facts. Same facts as Example 5, except that Employer also receives a list billing premium quote from Plan Y with respect to a second QHP offered by Employer on a SHOP Exchange for each of Employer's 4 employees. Plan Y's quote for Employee L, age 20, is $4,000 per year for employee-only coverage or $12,000 per year for family coverage. For Employees M, N and O, each age 40, the premium is $7,000 per year for employee-only coverage or $15,000 per year for family coverage. The total employee-only premium under Plan Y is $25,000 ($4,000 + (3 × 7,000)). The employer-computed composite employee-only rate is $6,250 ($25,000/4). Employer designates Plan X as the reference plan. Employer offers to make contributions based on the employer-calculated composite premium for the reference QHP (Plan X) such that each employee has to contribute $2,000 to receive employee-only coverage through Plan X. Under this arrangement, Employer would contribute $1,000 toward employee-only coverage for L and $3,000 toward employee-only coverage for M, N, and O. In the event an employee elects family coverage through Plan X or either employee-only or family coverage through Plan Y, Employer would make the same contributions ($1,000 for L or $3,000 for M, N, or O) toward that coverage.

(ii) Conclusion. Employer satisfies the uniform percentage requirement because it offers and makes contributions based on the employer-calculated composite employee-only premium for the Plan X reference QHP such that, in order to receive employee-only coverage, each employee must pay a uniform amount which is not more than 50% of the employee-only composite premium of the reference QHP; it allows employees to use the same employer contributions toward family coverage in the reference QHP or coverage through another QHPs.

Example 8. (i) Facts. Employer offers employee-only and SHOP dependent coverage through a QHP to its three employees using list billing. All three employees enroll in the employee-only coverage, and one employee elects to enroll two dependents in SHOP dependent coverage. Employer contributes 100% of the employee-only premium costs, but only contributes 25% of the premium costs toward SHOP dependent coverage.

(ii) Conclusion. Employer's contribution of 100% toward the premium costs of employee-only coverage satisfies the uniform percentage requirement, even though Employer is only contributing 25% toward SHOP dependent coverage.

Example 9. (i) Facts. Employer has five employees. Employer is located in a State that requires employers to pay 50% of employees' premium costs, but also requires that an employee's contribution not exceed a certain percentage of the employee's monthly gross earnings from that employer. Employer offers to pay 50% of the premium costs for all its employees, and to comply with the State law, Employer contributes more than 50% of the premium costs for two of its employees.

(ii) Conclusion. Employer satisfies the uniform percentage requirement because its failure to otherwise satisfy the uniform percentage requirement is attributable solely to compliance with the applicable State or local law.

Example 10. (i) Facts. Employer has three employees who all enroll in employee-only coverage. Employer is located in a State that has a tobacco surcharge on the premiums of employees who use tobacco. One of Employer's employees smokes. Employer contributes 50% of the employee-only premium costs, but does not cover any of the tobacco surcharge for the employee who smokes.

(ii) Conclusion. Employer's contribution of 50% toward the premium costs of employee-only coverage satisfies the uniform percentage requirement. Tobacco surcharges are not factored into premiums when calculating the uniform percentage requirement.

Example 11. (i) Facts. Employer has five employees who all enroll in employee-only coverage. Employer offers a wellness program that reduces the employee share of the premium for employees who participate in the wellness program. Employer contributes 50% of the premium costs of employee-only coverage for employees who do not participate in the wellness program and 55% of the premium costs of employee-only coverage for employees who participate in the wellness program. Three of the five employees participate in the wellness program.

(ii) Conclusion. Employer's contribution of 50% toward the premium costs of employee-only coverage for the two employees who do not participate in the wellness program and 55% toward the premium costs of employee-only coverage for three employees who participate in the wellness program satisfies the uniform percentage requirement because the additional 5% contribution due to the employees' participation in the wellness program is not taken into account. However, the additional 5% contributions are taken into account for purposes of calculating the credit.

(g) Effective/applicability date. This section is applicable for periods after 2013. For transition rules relating to certain plan years starting in 2014, see §1.45R-3(i).

[T.D. 9672, 79 FR 36646, June 30, 2014]

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