The Health Insurance Responsibility Disclosure (HIRD) form is a new state reporting requirement in Massachusetts beginning in 2018. This form differs from the original HIRD form that was passed into law in 2006 and repealed in 2014. The 2018 form is administered by MassHealth and the Department of Revenue (DOR) through the MassTaxConnect (MTC) web portal. The HIRD form is intended to assist MassHealth in identifying its members with access to employer sponsored health insurance who may be eligible for the MassHealth Premium Assistance Program. The HIRD form is required annually beginning in 2018. The reporting period opens on November 1 and must be completed by November 30 of the filing year. 

Any employers with six or more employees in Massachusetts in any month during the past 12 months preceding the due date of the form (November 30th of the reporting year) are required to annually submit a HIRD form. An individual is considered to be an employee if they were included on the employer’s quarterly wage report to the Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) during the past 12 months. This includes all employment categories, full-time and part-time.

The HIRD form is reported through MassTaxConnect (MTC) web portal (https://mtc.dor.state.ma.us/mtc/_/#1). The MTC is where employer-taxpayers register to file returns, forms and make tax payments. To file your HIRD form, login to your MTC withholding account and select the “file health insurance responsibility disclosure” hyperlink. If you do not have a MTC account or you forgot your password or username, follow the prompts on the site or call the DOR at 614-466-3940.

INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR HIRD REPORTING

The HIRD Form will collect information about the employer’s insurance offerings, including:

  • Plan Information – plan year, renewal date.
  • Summary of benefits for all available health plans – information regarding in and out of network deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums can be found on the plan’s summary of benefits and coverage.
  • Eligibility criteria for insurance offerings – minimum probationary periods and hours worked per week to be eligible for coverage.  Employment based categories, such as full-time, part-time, hourly, salaried.
  • Total monthly premiums of all available health plans
  • Employer and employee shares of monthly premiums – information on employer and employee monthly contributions toward the cost of medical. Employer cost of coverage is your COBRA rate less 2% and less the employee contribution.

Due to the nature of the filing online, employers with employees in Massachusetts will need to complete this reporting themselves. However, Diversified Group may be able to assist you in the gathering of the required information. Please contact us by November 15th  if you need assistance with accumulating data.

Mass.gov has compiled a list of frequently asked questions regarding the HIRD form here.