Insurers and plan sponsors of self-funded plans, must soon start paying a fee to support the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust. This was established by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; the trust finances the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).

The PCORI is tasked with “advancing the quality and relevance of evidence-based medicine through the synthesis and dissemination of comparative clinical effectiveness research findings” and is funded by a new fee imposed on medical plans. 

The new fee affects all plans with plan years ending on and after October 1, 2012. For plan years ending before October 1, 2013, the fee is $1 times the average number of people covered under the plan. Fees are due no later than July 31 of the year following the last day of the plan year.

For calendar-year plans, that means the first fee is due July 31, 2013.  See the Fisher & Phillips Benefits Alert dated December 10, 2012, titled “Fees Under the New Healthcare Reform Act Set to Begin” for more information on the PCORI fee.