employer
(1) Requirements of group health plans (A) Working aged under group health plans (i) In general A group health plan— (I) may not take into account that an individual (or the individual’s spouse) who is covered under the plan by virtue of the individual’s current employment status with an employer is entitled to benefits under this subchapter under section 426(a) of this title , and (II) shall provide that any individual age 65 or older (and the spouse age 65 or older of any individual) who has current employment status with an employer shall be entitled to the same benefits under the plan under the same conditions as any such individual (or spouse) under age 65. (ii) Exclusion of group health plan of a small employer Clause (i) shall not apply to a group health plan unless the plan is a plan of, or contributed to by, an employer that has 20 or more employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current calendar year or the preceding calendar year. (iii) Exception for small employers in multiemployer or multiple employer group health plans Clause (i) also shall not apply with respect to individuals enrolled in a multiemployer or multiple employer group health plan if the coverage of the individuals under the plan is by virtue of current employment status with an employer that does not have 20 or more individuals in current employment status for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current calendar year and the preceding calendar year; except that the exception provided in this clause shall only apply if the plan elects treatment under this clause. (iv) Exception for individuals with end stage renal disease Subparagraph (C) shall apply instead of clause (i) to an item or service furnished in a month to an individual if for the month the individual is, or (without regard to entitlement under section 426 of this title ) would upon application be, entitled to benefits under section 426–1 of this title . (v) “Group health plan” defined In this subparagraph, and subparagraph (C), the term “group health plan” has the meaning given such term in section 5000(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, without regard to section 5000(d) of such Code. (B) Disabled individuals in large group health plans (i) In general A large group health plan (as defined in clause (iii)) may not take into account that an individual (or a member of the individual’s family) who is covered under the plan by virtue of the individual’s current employment status with an employer is entitled to benefits under this subchapter under section 426(b) of this title . (ii) Exception for individuals with end stage renal disease Subparagraph (C) shall apply instead of clause (i) to an item or service furnished in a month to an individual if for the month the individual is, or (without regard to entitlement under section 426 of this title ) would upon application be, entitled to benefits under section 426–1 of this title . (iii) “Large group health plan” defined In this subparagraph, the term “large group health plan” has the meaning given such term in section 5000(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, without regard to section 5000(d) of such Code. (C) Individuals with end stage renal disease A group health plan (as defined in subparagraph (A)(v))— (i) may not take into account that an individual is entitled to or eligible for benefits under this subchapter under section 426–1 of this title during the 12-month period which begins with the first month in which the individual becomes entitled to benefits under part A under the provisions of section 426–1 of this title , or, if earlier, the first month in which the individual would have been entitled to benefits under such part under the provisions of section 426–1 of this title if the individual had filed an application for such benefits; and (ii) may not differentiate in the benefits it provides between individuals having end stage renal disease and other individuals covered by such plan on the basis of the existence of end stage renal disease, the need for renal dialysis, or in any other manner; except that clause (ii) shall not prohibit a plan from paying benefits secondary to this subchapter when an individual is entitled to or eligible for benefits under this subchapter under section 426–1 of this title after the end of the 12-month period described in clause (i). Effective for items and services furnished on or after February 1, 1991 , and before August 5, 1997 , (with respect to periods beginning on or after February 1, 1990 ), this subparagraph shall be applied by substituting “18-month” for “12-month” each place it appears. Effective for items and services furnished on or after August 5, 1997 , August 5, 1997 ), clauses (i) and (ii) shall be applied by substituting “30-month” for “12-month” each place it appears. (D) Treatment of certain members of religious orders In this subsection, an individual shall not be considered to be employed, or an employee, with respect to the performance of services as a member of a religious order which are considered employment only by virtue of an election made by the religious order under section 3121(r) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. (E) General provisions For purposes of this subsection: (i) Aggregation rules (I) All employers treated as a single employer under subsection (a) or (b) of section 52 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall be treated as a single employer. (II) All employees of the members of an affiliated service group (as defined in section 414(m) of such Code) shall be treated as employed by a single employer. (III) Leased employees (as defined in section 414(n)(2) of such Code) shall be treated as employees of the person for whom they perform services to the extent they are so treated under section 414(n) of such Code. In applying sections of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 under this clause, the Secretary shall rely upon regulations and decisions of the Secretary of the Treasury respecting such sections. (ii) “Current employment status” defined An individual has “current employment status” with an employer if the individual is an employee, is the employer, or is associated with the employer in a business relationship. (iii) Treatment of self-employed persons as employers The term “employer” includes a self-employed person. (iv) Application to certain Postal Service annuitants or family members Nothing in this paragraph shall prohibit a group health plan from determining an individual’s eligibility to enroll in a health benefits plan offered under the Postal Service Health Benefits Program under section 8903c of title 5 in accordance with subsection (e) of such section. (F) Limitation on beneficiary liability An individual who is entitled to benefits under this subchapter and is furnished an item or service for which such benefits are incorrectly paid is not liable for repayment of such benefits under this paragraph unless payment of such benefits was made to the individual.