Employers may already be aware that annually they are required to provide notices of "creditable" or "non-creditable" coverage to Medicare-eligible individuals before each year's Medicare Part D annual enrollment period by October 15th.
Prescription drug coverage is creditable when it is at least actuarially equivalent to Medicare's standard Part D coverage and non-creditable when it does not provide, on average, as much coverage as Medicare's standard Part D plan.
The notice obligation is not limited to retirees and their dependents covered by the employers' plan, but also includes Medicare-eligible active employees and their dependents and Medicare-eligible COBRA participants and their dependents.
Plan sponsors that provide prescription drug coverage to Medicare-eligible individuals must also disclose to CMS annually whether the coverage is creditable or non-creditable. This disclosure must be made no more than 60 days after the beginning of each plan year—generally, by March 1st, if your Employer Sponsored Plan begins on January 1st. The CMS disclosure obligation applies to all plan sponsors that provide prescription drug coverage, even those that do not offer prescription drug coverage to retirees.
What if the Employer Sponsored Plan begins on a different month than January 1st?
Employers are still required to disclose to CMS annually by going online and completing the CMS Disclosure Form.
If your plan begins on January 1st - disclosure due March 1st
If your plan begins on February 1st - disclosure due April 1st
If your plan begins on March 1st - disclosure due May 1st
If your plan begins on April 1st - disclosure due June 1st
If your plan begins on May 1st - disclosure due July 1st
If your plan begins on June 1st - disclosure due August 1st
If your plan begins on July 1st - disclosure due September 1st
If your plan begins on August 1st - disclosure due October 1st
If your plan begins on September 1st - disclosure due November 1st
If your plan begins on October 1st - disclosure due December 1st
If your plan begins on November 1st - disclosure due January 1st
If your plan begins on December 1st - disclosure due February 1st