The Department of Labor (“DOL”) has released a revised Model Notice for employers to use to inform employees about the potential for them to receive state-provided premium assistance subsidies to use towards the purchase of group healthcare coverage.
The Children’s Health Insurance Program (“CHIP”) Reauthorization Act of 2009 requires employers that maintain group health plans to annually notify employees about the opportunity for them to receive premium assistance subsidies from state-administered Medicaid or CHIP programs. Employers must provide the Medicaid/CHIP Model Notice to all employees who reside in states that provide such assistance, regardless of whether the employees are currently participants in the employer’s group health plan.
Because the Medicaid/CHIP Model Notice lists the states that provide premium assistance, the DOL has said that an employer can meet its notification obligation by simply providing the Model Notice to all employees, regardless of where they live.
For 2023, the maximum penalty for an employer’s failure to provide its employees with the required Medicaid/CHIP Model Notice is $137 per day, per employee.
