PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Oct 3, 2017
Commonsense Reporting Act of 2017
This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Internal Revenue Code to modify the requirements for employers to report health insurance coverage information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by the end of the tax year.
The bill changes the information that is required and permits employers to voluntarily report the information prior to the beginning of open enrollment.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
The Department of the Treasury must develop a prospective reporting system to permit:
employers to voluntarily report specified health insurance coverage information before the annual open enrollment period;
the exchanges, the Federal Marketplace Data Services Hub, and the IRS to access the information to carry out their missions and provide the Department of Health and Human Services with information related to eligibility for advance payment of premium tax credits and cost-sharing subsidies;
the exchanges to communicate with employers and employees regarding eligibility for the tax credits or cost-sharing subsidies; and
employers to provide updates to the hub regarding changes in coverage for employees.
At the time of enrollment, exchanges must provide employers the names of employees and dependents that enroll in a qualified health plan for a year.
If a health insurance issuer or employer is unable to obtain the taxpayer identification number of a dependent, Treasury may permit the individual's full name and date of birth to be used instead.
Employers participating in the reporting system established by this bill are exempt from the requirement to report health insurance coverage information to the IRS by the end of the tax year.
People & committees
Sen. Warner, Mark R. [D-VA] · D–VA
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Dec 5, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.1908 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.1908 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.1908 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.1908 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.