The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) fee that the Affordable Care Act established helps fund research that evaluates and compares health outcomes, clinical effectiveness, risks and benefits of medical treatments and services. The fee was set to expire in 2019 but was reinstated in December of that year and remains in effect through 2029.

The fee for self-funded plans is assessed on all covered lives, not just employees. Plan sponsors are permitted to continue to use one of three methods to calculate the average number of covered lives for the PCORI fee: the actual count method, the snapshot method, and the Form 5500 method. For policy or plan years that end between October 1, 2021 and September 30, 2022, the fee is $2.79. This is an increase from the $2.66 payment for policy or plan years that ended between October 1, 2020 and September 30, 2021. While employers and plan sponsors with self-funded plans are typically responsible for submitting IRS Form 720 and paying the PCORI fee by July 31 of the calendar year immediately following the last day of the plan year, the next payment is due by August 1, 2022 this year, as the usual July 31 deadline falls on a Sunday.

The fee for employers with fully insured plans is assessed per employee, as opposed to per covered life. Many employers that are fully insured do not need to take any action, as the insurer will submit the payment on their behalf. Keep in mind, however, that fully insured employer groups with self-funded HRAs are required to pay the fee on each employee covered under the account.