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Legal Updates

Out With The Old, In With The New: DHCPF Issues 2008 HIRD Form

The Massachusetts Division of Health Care Policy and Finance (“DHCPF”) has issued the attached new 2008 Employee Health Insurance Responsibility Disclosure Form (“HIRD Form”).

Massachusetts employers with 11 or more full-time equivalent employees (“reporting employers”) must obtain a completed HIRD Form from each employee who either:

  • Declines to enroll in the employer-sponsored health insurance plan; and/or
  • Declines to participate in the employer’s Section 125 plan.

Reporting employers must obtain a signed HIRD Form from each such employee upon the earliest of (as applicable):

  • Thirty (30) days after the close of each open enrollment period for the reporting employer’s health insurance plan;
  • Thirty (30) days after the close of each open enrollment period for the reporting employer’s Section 125 plan; or
  • September 30th of the reporting year.

Reporting employers also must collect signed HIRD forms within thirty (30) days of either of the following:  (1) the date a new hire waives employer-sponsored health plan participation and/or Section 125 plan participation, or (2) the date an employee waives or terminates health plan participation and/or Section 125 plan participation.

Reporting employers must return a copy of the signed HIRD Form to the employee and retain the original signed HIRD Form for three (3) years.  If an employee does not return the signed HIRD Form upon request, then the reporting employer must document its efforts to obtain the signed HIRD Form.  Portuguese and Spanish versions of the 2008 HIRD Form should be available by March of 2008.

Please note that an employer is a “reporting employer” subject to the HIRD requirement if the sum of payroll hours for all employees who have worked at least one month from October 1 through September 30, capped at 2000 hours per employee, divided by 2000, is greater than or equal to 11.  Payroll hours include all hours for which an employer paid wages, including regular, vacation, sick, Family and Medical Leave Act, short term disability, long term disability, overtime and holiday hours.

We are available to assist you in complying with the HIRD requirement, and to address any questions that you may have regarding it or Massachusetts Health Care Law in general.