[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5440 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5440

To require large employers to notify their employees of the amount paid 
             by the employer for employee health coverage.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 11, 2000

  Mr. Armey introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require large employers to notify their employees of the amount paid 
             by the employer for employee health coverage.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Employee Health Benefits Disclosure 
Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. NOTIFICATION OF EMPLOYER COST OF PROVIDING HEALTH COVERAGE FOR 
              EMPLOYEES.

    (a) In General.--Every large employer who provides health coverage 
for an employee during any calendar year shall notify such employee of 
the amount of the employer health plan contribution for such year.
    (b) Employer Health Plan Contribution.--For purposes of this 
section--
            (1) In general.--The term ``employer health plan 
        contribution'' means, with respect to an employee, the cost of 
        the employer-provided coverage for such employee under any 
        health plan.
            (2) Alternative amount.--
                    (A) In general.--In lieu of applying paragraph (1), 
                an employer may treat the employer health plan 
                contribution as being the applicable premium (as 
                defined in section 4980B(f)(4) of the Internal Revenue 
                Code of 1986) for the employee reduced by the 
                employee's share of such premium.
                    (B) Employee's share.--The term ``employee's 
                share'' means, with respect to the applicable premium 
                for any employee, the amount of the cost to the plan 
                which is paid by similarly situated beneficiaries who 
                are taken into account in determining such premium for 
                such employee.
    (c) Statement Required To Be Included on Notice.--Each notice 
provided under this section shall include the following statement with 
respect to the employer health plan contribution: ``This contribution 
is part of your total compensation and reduces your cash wages and 
other compensation by a like amount.''
    (d) Other Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
            (1) Large employer.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``large employer'' means, 
                with respect to a calendar year, any employer who 
                employed an average of 100 or more employees on 
                business days during the preceding calendar year. For 
                purposes of the preceding sentence, a preceding 
                calendar year may be taken into account only if the 
                employer was in existence throughout such year.
                    (B) Employers not in existence in preceding year.--
                In the case of an employer which was not in existence 
                throughout the preceding calendar year, the 
                determination under subparagraph (A) shall be based on 
                the average number of employees that it is reasonably 
                expected such employer will employ on business days 
                during the current calendar year.
                    (C) Special rules.--
                            (i) Controlled groups.--For purposes of 
                        this paragraph, all persons treated as a single 
                        employer under subsection (b), (c), (m), or (o) 
                        of section 414 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
                        1986 shall be treated as 1 employer.
                            (ii) Predecessors.--Any reference in this 
                        paragraph to an employer shall include a 
                        reference to any predecessor of such employer.
            (2) Employee.--Except for purposes of paragraph (1), the 
        term ``employee'' includes a former employee and an individual 
        who is a beneficiary by reason of a deceased employee.
    (e) Means of Notice.--The notice required under this section may be 
made by mail, by including the required information with a payment of 
wages or with a description of the plan provided to employees, or by 
other reasonable means.
    (f) Penalty for Failure To Notify.--
            (1) In general.--A large employer who willfully fails to 
        provide a timely notice under this section to an employee, or 
        who willfully furnishes a notice stating a false employer 
        health plan contribution, shall for each such failure be 
        subject to a penalty under subchapter B of chapter 68 of the 
        Internal Revenue Code of 1986 of $50, which shall be assessed 
        and collected in the same manner as the tax on employers 
        imposed by section 3111 of such Code.
            (2) Safe harbor.--An employer shall be treated as providing 
        a timely notice under this section with respect to any period 
        during a calendar year if such notice is provided on or before 
        January 31 of the succeeding year.
    (g) Administrative Authority.--The Secretary of the Treasury or the 
Secretary's delegate shall prescribe such regulations as may be 
appropriate to carry out this section and shall have administrative 
responsibility for determining whether the requirements of this section 
are met.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall apply to calendar years after 2004.
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