Offering a health benefit comes with important communication responsibilities for employers. Federal law requires you to provide certain notices that explain how your benefits work, employees' rights, and key enrollment information.
The required notices vary depending on the type of health benefit you offer, from traditional group health plans to health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), including individual coverage HRAs (ICHRAs) and qualified small employer HRAs (QSEHRAs).
In this article, we'll cover the most common health benefit plan notices, when employers must distribute them, and how to stay compliant.
In this blog post, you'll learn:
Health benefit notices help your workforce understand the employee benefits available to them and their rights under federal law.
They're required by several agencies, including the:
Providing required notices on time helps employers:
While there are annual notice requirements, you only need to provide others when employees first become eligible or when certain events occur.
If you offer a group health plan, you'll likely need to provide several required documents and notices1.
The summary of benefits and coverage (SBC) is a standardized document that explains what a health insurance plan covers. It also outlines how much employees can expect to pay for care.
The SBC includes information such as:
Employers must provide an SBC:
Insurers for fully-insured group plans provide the SBC to employers, who must distribute it to employees. However, if you have a self-funded group plan, you’re responsible for creating and distributing the SBC (or working with a third-party administrator).
The summary plan description (SPD) explains how a health benefit plan operates. It also outlines participants' rights under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
An SPD typically includes:
Employers generally must provide an SPD to newly covered participants within 90 days of enrollment. Employers must also distribute updated SPDs when significant health plan changes occur.
ERISA-covered health plans must also maintain formal written plan documents. Unlike an SPD, the official plan document establishes the legal terms governing the benefit plan.
While you don’t need to distribute the document to all employees, employers must provide it if they request it.
Employers subject to COBRA must provide several notices that explain employees' rights to continue health coverage after certain qualifying events, such as termination or reduced work hours.
The main COBRA notices include:
Employers must inform employees of their right to enroll outside of open enrollment after certain qualifying life events. Some qualifying life events include marriage, birth, adoption, or loss of other health coverage.
Employers that sponsor group health plans subject to HIPAA privacy rules must provide a notice of privacy practices2 (NPP). This notice explains how the health plan may use and disclose protected health information (PHI) and outlines participants' privacy rights.
You must generally provide this notice when an individual enrolls in the plan and redistribute it if you update it.
Employers that offer prescription drug coverage must tell Medicare-eligible individuals whether their coverage is creditable under Medicare Part D3.
If you’re offering a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) such as a QSEHRA or ICHRA, you must notify employees that their coverage is not creditable under Medicare Part D. However, a new 2026 CMS4 rule is removing the requirement for HRAs to provide a notice of creditable coverage under § 423.56(b)(3) beginning in 2027.
The Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act5 (WHCRA) requires group health plans that cover mastectomies to also cover certain reconstructive surgeries. Since this applies to most plans that offer medical or surgical coverage, most major medical plans require this notice. Employers generally must provide this notice when participants enroll and annually thereafter.
Employers in states that offer premium assistance programs must notify employees about potential opportunities for assistance through Medicaid or CHIP.
Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), employers subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) must provide a health insurance exchange notice to new employees.
The notice explains:
Employers generally must provide this notice within 14 days of an employee's start date.
An individual coverage HRA (ICHRA) has an additional notice requirement compared to a traditional group health plan.
The ICHRA notice is an important compliance requirement for employers offering an ICHRA.
The notice explains:
Generally, employers must provide the notice at least 90 days before the beginning of the plan year. For new employees who become eligible during the year, employers generally must provide the notice no later than the date the employee's coverage begins.
Because the notice contains required language established by federal regulations, employers should use an up-to-date template. They can also work with an HRA administrator, like PeopleKeep by Remodel Health, to ensure compliance. We automatically generate an ICHRA notice for your employees.
Like an ICHRA, a qualified small employer HRA (QSEHRA) has specific employee notice requirements. Employers offering a QSEHRA must provide eligible employees with a written notice. The notice must explain how the benefit works and what employees need to know before using it.
It generally includes:
In most cases, employers must provide the notice at least 90 days before the beginning of the plan year. If an employee becomes eligible for the QSEHRA after the start of the plan year, the employer must generally provide the notice on or before the date the employee becomes eligible to participate.
Not every notice follows the same schedule.
Here's a general overview:
|
Notice |
Timing |
|
Summary of benefits and coverage (SBC) |
During open enrollment, when employees first become eligible, and upon request |
|
Summary plan description (SPD) |
Within 90 days of becoming covered by the plan |
|
ICHRA notice |
Generally, at least 90 days before the start of the plan year |
|
QSEHRA notice |
Generally, at least 90 days before the start of the plan year |
|
HIPAA notice of privacy practices |
When an individual enrolls in the plan, upon request, and when materially updated |
|
HIPAA special enrollment notice |
At or before enrollment |
|
Marketplace exchange notice |
Within 14 days of an employee's start date |
|
Medicare Part D creditable coverage notice |
Annually before October 15 |
|
Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act (WHCRA) notice |
Upon enrollment and annually thereafter |
|
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) notice |
Annually |
|
COBRA notices |
Following qualifying events and enrollment in COBRA continuation coverage |
Employers should review their compliance calendar each year to ensure notices are distributed on time.
Managing health benefit notices can feel overwhelming, especially for small businesses with limited HR resources.
A few best practices include:
PeopleKeep helps employers simplify HRA compliance by generating essential plan documents, including initial plan documents, SPDs, and customized employee notices.
Providing required health benefit plan notices is an important part of managing employee benefits. While notice requirements and deadlines vary based on the type of benefit you offer, staying organized helps employees understand their coverage and helps your business avoid compliance issues. Reviewing your requirements each year and keeping accurate records can make it easier to maintain a compliant benefits program.
If you're offering or considering an ICHRA or QSEHRA, PeopleKeep by Remodel Health can help simplify the process. Schedule a call with one of our HRA specialists today!
This blog article was originally published on April 8, 2015. It was last updated on August 3, 2026.