The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 32: Taxation and Finance

Chapter 244: Requirement to Maintain Minimum Essential Coverage

• § 10451. Definitions

  As used in this chapter:

  (1) “Applicable individual” means, with respect to any month, an individual other than the following:

  (A) an individual who is:

  (i) a member of a recognized religious sect or division thereof that is described in 26 U.S.C. § 1402(g)(1) and is an adherent of established tenets or teachings of that sect or division; or

  (ii) a member of a religious sect or division thereof that is not described in 26 U.S.C. § 1402(g)(1), who relies solely on a religious method of healing, and for whom the acceptance of medical health services would be inconsistent with the individual’s religious beliefs;

  (B) an individual not lawfully present in the United States; or

  (C) an individual for any month if for the month the individual is incarcerated, other than incarceration pending the disposition of charges.

  (2) “Minimum essential coverage” has the same meaning as in 26 U.S.C. § 5000A and any related regulations and federal guidance, as in effect on December 31, 2017. The term also includes any other coverage or health insurance product deemed by the Department of Financial Regulation to constitute minimum essential coverage based on the criteria established in federal law and guidance in effect on December 31, 2017. (Added 2017, No. 182 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2020; amended 2019, No. 63, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2020.)

• § 10452. Requirement to maintain minimum essential coverage

  An applicable individual shall ensure that the individual and any dependent of the individual who is also an applicable individual is covered at all times under minimum essential coverage. (Added 2017, No. 182 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2020.)

• § 10453. Reporting and documentation of coverage

  (a) Each applicable individual who files or is required to file an individual income tax return as a resident of Vermont, either separately or jointly with a spouse, shall indicate on the return, in a manner prescribed by the Commissioner of Taxes, whether the individual had minimum essential coverage in effect for each of the 12 months of the taxable year for which the return is filed as required by section 10452 of this chapter, whether covered as an individual or as a named beneficiary of a policy covering multiple individuals.

  (b) An applicable individual who indicates on a Vermont income tax return that the individual had minimum essential coverage shall provide to the Department of Taxes, upon the Department’s request, a copy of the statement of coverage furnished to the individual pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 6055 by the provider of the individual’s minimum essential coverage.

  (c) In the event that the requirement for providers of minimum essential coverage to furnish a statement of coverage to individuals pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 6055 is suspended or eliminated for any taxable year, the Department of Vermont Health Access and each employer, health insurance carrier, and other entity providing minimum essential coverage to residents of this State shall submit a return to the Department of Taxes including the same information as had been provided to the Internal Revenue Service pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 6055 at such time and in such form as the Commissioner of Taxes shall require. (Added 2019, No. 63, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2020.)

• § 10454. Outreach to uninsured Vermonters

  The Department of Vermont Health Access, in consultation with the Office of the Health Care Advocate and other interested stakeholders, shall use information obtained from the Department of Taxes regarding Vermont residents without minimum essential coverage to provide targeted outreach to assist those residents in identifying and enrolling in appropriate and affordable health insurance or other health coverage. (Added 2019, No. 63, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2020.)