As outlined in the Affordable Care Act, employers who offer health insurance are required to pay the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) annual fee.

You may recall that the annual PCORI fee was extended in December 2019. See questions and answers on the fee. The PCORI fee was established as part of the ACA to fund medical research. Insurers and self-funded plans are subject to the fee. The last PCORI fee payment was expected to occur on July 31, 2020 (for non-calendar year plans), but has now been extended for another 10 years.

BCBSND will pay the PCORI fee on behalf of fully insured plans. Self-funded plans are responsible for their own payments. As in the past, BCBSND will provide information to self-funded groups when the information is available from the IRS.

The PCORI fee is based on the average number of members covered and is $2.54 per member for the current year. Later this month, we will provide information to self-funded groups to help calculate PCORI fees if applicable.

The fee is reported and paid using IRS Form 720 Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return and is due July 31 of the year following the last day of the plan year. Get the form and more information.

Consult your tax advisor for assistance in filing the form and paying the fee.