Health Insurance Providers Fee
Section 9010 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) imposes a fee on each covered entity engaged in the business of providing health insurance for United States health risks. This is known as the Health Insurance Providers (HIP) fee or the Health Insurers Tax (HIT) tax. The first filings were due from covered entities by April 15, 2014, and the first fees were due September 30, 2014. Self-insured plans are not covered entities for the purpose of the HIP Fee. The HIP fee is an important revenue source for PPACA, amounting to $8 billion in 2014 and rising to $14.3 billion by 2018. While fully insured plans are not directly responsible for the HIP fee, the Congressional Budget Office was correct when it indicated that it would be “largely passed through to consumers in the form of higher premiums.” Some premiums have increased as much as 4.5%.