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About the ACA

Contacts

For questions about ACA, including the ACA 1095 Portal, ACA-eligibility and the ACA Plan, contact the University HR Service Team online or call (877) 905-2985 or (650) 736-2985.

For tax-related questions about the IRS 1095 Tax form, contact the IRS Tax Help Line at (800) 829-1040 (Mon-Fri, 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. local time).

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Active employees and official retirees can use this tool to compare medical benefits, as well as plan costs.

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Updates and Announcements about the ACA

IMPORTANT HEALTH COVERAGE TAX DOCUMENTS

The Paperwork Burden Reduction Act amends IRC Sections 6055(c) and 6056(c) to allow an alternative method of furnishing Forms 1095-B and 1095-C.

Effective with tax year 2025, Stanford University will no longer automatically print and mail Forms 1095-B/C to employees, former employees and retirees. 

How to Access Your Form 1095-B/C:

Employees

Option 1: Online Self-Service
  1. Log into the My Benefits portal
  2. Scroll down to "Your Benefit Providers"
  3. Click on the “ACA 1095 Tax Form” tile
  4. You will be logged in through the SSO. From this page, you may view your form online, download a PDF copy, or request that a printed copy be mailed to your address.
Option 2: Contact the HR Service Center

Postdoctoral Scholars and Former Employees

Option 1: Online Self-Service
  1. Visit the HealthAct portal
  2. Scroll down to "Former employees and anyone else unable to access the My Benefits portal can click here to directly log into the HealthAct portal" and select "Click Here"
  3. Enter your personal information and click "Login"
  4. From this page, you may view your form online, download a PDF copy, or request that a printed copy be mailed to your address.
Option 2: Contact the HR Service Center

What is the ACA?

In 2010, the federal government enacted the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a comprehensive health care reform law that phases in a series of actions to occur over an eight-year period. The ACA is intended to:

  • Provide all Americans access to health care
  • Lower the cost of quality health care
  • Protect health care consumer rights

To expand health care coverage, as part of the Employer Shared Responsibility Provision, also known as the employer mandate, all employers with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees (FTE) are required to provide minimum essential medical coverage (MEC) to at least 95 percent of their full-time employees and dependents up to age 26.

Full-time employees for ACA purposes are those who work, or are expected at hire to work, an average of 30 hours or more per week. At Stanford, these include not only Stanford’s benefits-eligible employees, but also Stanford’s temporary, casual, and student employees.

Employers are also required to report coverage information to the IRS and furnish covered individuals with a form that shows compliance with the Affordable Care Act. The annual notification, also known as the IRS Form 1095-C, must be generated annually and made available to full-time employees and individuals covered by a self-insured plan by the end of January. In addition, fully-insured health plan insurers, like Kaiser, must generate a similar IRS Form (1095-B) to covered individuals.

What Action does Stanford Take and Who is Affected?

To comply with the ACA Employer Shared Responsibility mandate, Stanford takes several actions that impact all Stanford employees and ACA-eligible employees. Below is a summary of actions Stanford takes:

ACA-ELIGIBLE ENROLLMENT
(FOR FULL-TIME TEMPORARY, CASUAL AND STUDENT EMPLOYEES)		IRS FORM 1095-C
(STANFORD EMPLOYEES, RETIREES AND OTHER COVERED INDIVIDUALS)

October:

Stanford notifies ACA-eligible employees that qualify for medical coverage of the health Open Enrollment period. ACA-eligible employees are identified based on a “look back” of service hours from October of the prior year to October of the current year.

 

Mid-October to Mid-November:

Open Enrollment period to elect medical coverage.

January:

Stanford will provide full-time employees and individuals covered by self-insured plans an IRS  Form 1095-C by the end of the month.

Fully insured plans, such as Kaiser, will provide their covered employees and individuals an IRS Form 1095-B.

January:

Medical coverage elected at Open Enrollment is effective January 1st.

 

During the year:

New Hire and Rehire ACA-eligible employees are notified when they qualify for medical coverage.