Employers are required to pay a “Fair Share Contribution” of $295 per employee per year. An employer is exempt from this requirement if it can show that at least 25% of covered employees are enrolled in its medical plans or if the employer pays at least 33% of the premium cost.

Employers must provide a Section 125 cafeteria plan to employees, or be subject to a “Free Rider Surcharge.” The surcharge amount is calculated based on the employer’s size and the number of times that employees and dependents receive state-subsidized care. Employers that offer a Section 125 cafeteria plan are exempt from this requirement.

Employers must collect an Employee Health Insurance Responsibility Disclosure (HIRD) from each employee who declines employer-sponsored medical coverage. Employees must sign and return the Employee HIRD statement within 30 days of declining or terminating coverage in an employer-sponsored plan. Employers are required to retain the signed forms for three years and are required to document their efforts to obtain the forms if employees have not returned a signed HIRD statement.

Employers are required to file an Employer Health Insurance Responsibility Disclosure (HIRD) form with the Division of Unemployment Assistance every year by November 15. This form discloses whether the employer has complied with the “Fair Share Contribution” and “Free Rider Surcharge” requirements. The Employer HIRD form is based on employment data as of September 30th of each year.

Additional restrictions are placed on insurance policies purchased in Massachusetts. Insurance policies must be available to all full-time employees; employers cannot require low wage earners to pay a higher percentage contribution than high wage earners; and dependent coverage must be extended to the lesser of a dependent’s 26th birthday or two years following the loss of dependent status under the federal tax code.