The US Departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (the Departments) recently issued much-anticipated final regulations under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). The newly issued...more
9/18/2024
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Mental Health ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
MHPAEA ,
NQTLs ,
Popular ,
U.S. Treasury
Recent lawsuits filed against the group health plans of two large US employers underscore the importance of implementing formal welfare benefit plan governance structures that include fiduciary committees comparable to the...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced (see Revenue Procedure 2024-25) cost-of-living adjustments to the applicable dollar limits for health savings accounts (HSAs), high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) and...more
5/10/2024
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Deductibles ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
HDHP ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
HRA ,
HSA ,
IRS
The US Departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (the Departments) recently issued much-anticipated proposed regulations under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) to better...more
8/4/2023
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Biden Administration ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Mental Health ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
MHPAEA ,
NQTLs ,
Proposed Regulation ,
U.S. Treasury
Recently, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced (See Revenue Procedure 2023-23) cost-of-living adjustments to the applicable dollar limits for health savings accounts (HSAs), high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) and...more
The Biden administration previously announced its intent to end the COVID-19 National Emergency (NE) and the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) on May 11, 2023 (read our series introduction for more information). On April...more
5/17/2023
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deadlines ,
Deductibles ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EBSA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health Insurance ,
Public Health Emergency ,
U.S. Treasury
The Biden administration has announced its intention to end the COVID-19 National Emergency (NE) and the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) on May 11, 2023 (read our series introduction for more information)....more
4/4/2023
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employees ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HSA ,
Public Health Emergency ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
The Biden administration recently announced its intention to end the COVID-19 National Emergency and the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency effective May 11, 2023. These emergency declarations have been in place for nearly...more
3/20/2023
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deadlines ,
Employee Assistance Programs ,
Employee Benefits ,
HDHPs ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Mental Health ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Telehealth ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Webinars
The Biden administration has announced its intent to end the COVID-19 National Emergency (NE) and the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) on May 11, 2023 (read our prior article for more information). A topic of great...more
On January 30, 2023, the Biden administration announced its intention to make final extensions of both the COVID-19 National Emergency (NE) and the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) through May 11, 2023, at which point...more
3/3/2023
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Telehealth ,
Vaccinations
On December 15, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) finalized regulations regarding Information Reporting of Health Insurance Coverage and Other Issues Under Internal Revenue Code (Code) Sections 5000A, 6055 and 6056...more
12/22/2022
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Final Rules ,
Health Insurance ,
Information Reports ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Self-Funded Health Plans ,
Shared Responsibility Rule ,
Tax Credits
On November 21, 2022, the US Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) released a proposed amendment and restatement of the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP), along with a...more
12/20/2022
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EBSA ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
IRS ,
Penalties ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Proposed Amendments ,
PTEs ,
Self-Correction Programs
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Social Security Administration announced the cost-of-living adjustments to the applicable dollar limits on various employer-sponsored retirement and welfare plans and the Social...more
10/21/2022
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
457(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
ESOP ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
HSA ,
IRS ,
Open Enrollment ,
Retirement Plan ,
Social Security Administration (SSA)
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced the cost-of-living adjustments to the applicable dollar limits for retirement plans for 2022. Most of the dollar limits currently in effect for 2021 will increase, with...more
Recently, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced (See Revenue Procedure 2021-25) cost-of-living adjustments to the applicable dollar limits for health savings accounts (HSAs), high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) and...more
Two days before the one-year anniversary of the official start of the COVID-19 outbreak, the US Department of Labor (DOL) issued a last-minute notice clarifying its prior guidance that relaxed the deadlines for the Employee...more
3/4/2021
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enrollment ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance
On January 7, 2021, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued proposed guidance regarding employer-sponsored wellness programs and the level of incentives employers may offer employees who participate in these...more
1/18/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employees ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Proposed Rules ,
Title I ,
Title II ,
Wellness Programs
On June 23, 2020, the US Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury issued tri-agency FAQs (Part 43) that clarify important health and welfare provisions under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act...more
6/26/2020
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CARES Act ,
Clinical Laboratory Testing ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Telehealth ,
Third-Party Agents ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Virus Testing
The SECURE Act, signed into law on December 20, 2019, is the broadest piece of retirement legislation passed in 13 years. It aims to enhance and expand retirement security for more Americans, in part, by encouraging plan...more
1/15/2020
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
SECURE Act ,
Webinars
The Department of Labor (DOL) issued a proposed rule that, if finalized, would expand its existing guidance and liberalize rules for electronic disclosure of retirement plan notices under ERISA. The proposed rule, which sets...more
10/31/2019
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Electronic Disclosure ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Notice Requirements ,
Plan Administrators ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors
An employer learned the full cost of ambiguity when a Connecticut federal district court agreed with an employee’s widow that the word “maximum” was ambiguous in the company’s life insurance plan, thus making the widow...more
9/12/2019
/ Ambiguous ,
Beneficiaries ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Contract Interpretation ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Death Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Equitable Interests ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Life Insurance ,
Summary Judgment ,
Widows
The Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services have released final rules removing the prohibition on pairing HRAs with individual health policies. The final rules also allow certain HRAs and other...more
7/30/2019
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Final Rules ,
Health Insurance ,
HRA ,
Pay or Play ,
Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Plan (QSEHRAs) ,
U.S. Treasury
The IRS recently released an updated version of EPCRS, the IRS’s program for correcting errors that occur under tax-qualified retirement plans. The latest version of EPCRS makes it easier for plan sponsors to self-correct...more
5/22/2019
/ Audits ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Employee Benefits ,
EPCRS ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Retirement Plan ,
Revenue Procedures ,
Self-Correction Programs ,
Voluntary Correction Program
In an Information Letter dated February 27, 2019, the Department of Labor (DOL) clarified that an ERISA plan must include any procedures for designating authorized representatives in the plan’s claims procedure and summary...more
On May 10, 2018, the IRS announced cost-of-living adjustments to the applicable dollar limits for health savings accounts and high-deductible health plans for 2019. Many of the limits will change for 2019....more