,,ii #aacth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #bagf ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,march #bg1 #bjad ,mr4 ,warner 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,franken1 ,mr4 ,begich1 ,mr4 ,manchin1 ,mrs4 ,shaheen1 ,ms4 ,heitkamp1 ,mr4 ,udall of ,new ,mexico1 and ,ms4 ,klobuchar7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,finance ,a ,,bill ,to revise reporting requirements under the ,patient ,protection and ,affordable ,care ,act to preserve the privacy of individuals1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,commonsense ,reporting ,act of #bjad4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,reporting requirements under the ,patient ,protection and ,affordable ,care ,act 7,public ,law #aaa-adh7 should strike the appropriate balance between sufficient reporting to enforce the law and protecting the privacy of individuals4 7#b7 ,protection of the primary insured individual and each other individual covered under the policy1 which should include minimizing the transmittal of social security numbers1 should be a priority when implementing reporting requirements4 7#c7 ,the ,department of the ,treasury and the ,internal ,revenue ,service should continue to work together with other departments and agencies1 including the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services1 the ,department of ,labor1 and the ,small ,business ,administration1 to streamline reporting and administrative processes under the ,patient ,protection and ,affordable ,care ,act4 ,these same agencies and departments should also work together to identify ways to minimize compliance burdens on businesses1 insurance carriers1 and individuals4 #c4 ,protection of dependent privacy 7a7 ,in general ,paragraph 7#a7 of section #fjee7;b7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by adding at the end the following flush sentence3 ,for purposes of subparagraph 7,b77i71 in the case of an individual other than the primary insured1 if the health insurance issuer or the employer does not collect or maintain information on the ,t,i,ns of such individuals 7other than for purposes of this section71 the individual's name and date of birth may be substituted for the name and ,,tin4 4 7b7 ,effective date ,the amendment made by this section shall apply to returns the due date for which is after ,december #ca1 #bjac4 #d4 ,employee opt-out 7a7 ,in general ,subsection 7d7 of section #fjef of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by adding at the end the following flush sentence3 ,an individual shall be deemed to have consented to receive the statement under this section in electronic form if such individual has consented at any prior time1 to a person required to furnish to such individual any statement for use in filing the return of tax1 to receive such statement in electronic form1 unless the individual explicitly refuses such consent4 4 7b7 ,statements relating to health insurance coverage ,subsection 7c7 of section #fjee of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph3 7#c7 ,electronic delivery ,an individual shall be deemed to have consented to receive the statement under this subsection in electronic form if such individual has consented at any prior time to receive in electronic form any private health information 7such as electronic health records7 furnished to such individual by the person required to make such statement1 unless the individual explicitly refuses such consent4 4 7c7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this section shall apply to statements the due date for which is after ,december #ca1 #bjac4 #e4 ,study 7a7 ,in general ,the ,department of the ,treasury1 in consultation with the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services1 the ,department of ,labor1 and the ,small ,business ,administration1 shall report to ,congress not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act on the processes necessary to develop a prospective reporting system in which an employer would be considered to have complied with section #fjef of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf for future reporting periods if the employer provided information on a voluntary basis on the affordability and value of the health coverage offered by such employer1 generally to whom it is offered1 and the length of any waiting period4 7b7 ,requirements ,the report under subsection 7a7 should address-- 7#a7 the processes necessary to ensure that ,exchanges could access the general information described in subsection 7a7 to assist in verifying eligibility determinations for advance payment of the premium tax credits under section #cf;,b of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf and the cost-sharing subsidies under section #adjb of the ,patient ,protection and ,affordable ,care ,act 7,public ,law #aaa-adh72 7#b7 guidance on how employers who provide this information on a voluntary basis in advance may be considered exempt from general reporting requirements under section #fjef of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf1 and should instead be required only to provide individual reports to employees who have been deemed eligible for advance payment of premium tax credits2 7#c7 any barriers that currently exist in data systems maintained by the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services or the ,internal ,revenue ,service which would hinder the development of such a verification system1 and recommendations for addressing such barriers2 7#d7 any statutory barriers that would prevent the administration from implementing a voluntary prospective reporting system and exempting employers who utilize such system from general reporting requirements under such section #fjef2 and 7#e7 the costs to develop such a system4 7c7 ,open comment period ,after the submission of the report under subsection 7a7 to ,congress1 there shall be an open comment period of not less than #fj days for applicable employers and other interested parties to respond to the contents of the report4 ,all comments submitted shall be accessible on a publicly available database4