Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Employee Benefits

Final Section 1557 Rules: Highlights for Health Plan Sponsors

Ballard Spahr LLP on 6/19/2024

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued final regulations on the nondiscrimination rules set forth in Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. The new rules apply to certain group health plans, as...more

The ACA 1557 Final Regulations: Plans and Plan Sponsors as Covered Entities

McDermott Will & Emery on 5/21/2024

In a recent On the Subject (available here), we reported on the impact of the final rule (final rule) interpreting Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on self-funded group health plans that contract with licensed...more

CMS Issues Guidance on Usage of AI in Making Coverage Determinations

McDermott Will & Emery on 4/26/2024

On February 6, 2024, the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a letter to all Medicare Advantage (MA) organizations and Medicare-Medicaid plans. The letter covered frequently asked questions and answers...more

Telehealth and the End of the COVID-19 Emergency

McDermott Will & Emery on 3/22/2023

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). In response to the...more

The Cost of Employee Benefits Non-Compliance Just Went Up . . . Again

Fisher Phillips on 11/30/2021

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) just announced increased penalty amounts for entities who violate the privacy, security, and breach notification rules under the Health Insurance Portability and...more

The health insurance mess: Worker costs jump anew, as kids’ coverage falls

Patrick Malone & Associates P.C. | DC Injury... on 10/16/2020

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced many Americans to reconsider their transportation options, what with fears of infection and the slashing of public transit systems’ routes and schedules. That has made used cars, motorcycles,...more

Year-End Challenges and Opportunities: Congress Passes SECURE Act, Caddy Tax Repeal, and More

Groom Law Group, Chartered on 1/10/2020

On Thursday, December 19, the Senate passed two spending bills to fund the government through September 30, 2020, one of which (H.R. 1865, the “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020” or the “Act”) contains the...more

What the HRA is going on with HRAs?

Burr & Forman on 7/11/2019

On June 13, the Departments of Labor, Treasury and Health and Human Services jointly released final regulations dealing with health reimbursement accounts (“HRAs”). These regulations fulfill the Trump administration’s...more

Agencies Issue Final Regulations Expanding Access to Health Reimbursement Arrangements

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints on 7/11/2019

On June 13, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of the Treasury (Treasury Department) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) (collectively, the “Departments”)...more

Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 Enacts Changes to Employee Retirement and Health Benefit Plans, and Medicare

Ballard Spahr LLP on 2/19/2018

Following a brief shutdown of the federal government, on February 9, Congress passed and President Donald J. Trump signed into law the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Budget Act), which provides Congress until March 23 to...more

2018 Limits Announced for Benefits and Other Tax Provisions

Saul Ewing LLP on 1/17/2018

Members of Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr’s Tax and Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practices have outlined the recently announced 2018 dollar limits on the Social Security Wage Base, compensation and deferrals for...more

House ACA Bill Contains Numerous Provisions Affecting Employers

Holland & Knight LLP on 3/9/2017

The House Committee on Ways and Means and the House Energy and Commerce Committee released proposed legislation on March 6, 2017, to partially repeal and replace parts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which was signed into...more

Potential Implications to the ACA Under the Incoming Republican Administration – Part II: Physicians

Akerman LLP - Health Law Rx on 1/24/2017

In contemplating the ways in which physicians may be affected by the possible repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—and certain features of any legislation that may replace it—a good place to start is with the person...more

Looking Forward/Looking Backward – Day 1 Notes from the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 1/11/2017

A large amount of wind, much discussion about the U.S healthcare, and the public getting soaked again – if you were thinking about Washington, DC and the new Congress, you’re 3,000 miles away from the action. This is the week...more

The ERISA Litigation Newsletter - December 2016

Proskauer Rose LLP on 12/21/2016

This month Richard Zall, Chair of Proskauer's Health Care Department, explores developments likely to occur with respect to the Affordable Care Act as a result of the new administration. In our Rulings, Filings and...more

Obama Signs 21st Century Cures Act, Adding $6.3 Billion For Medical Research

Ballard Spahr LLP on 12/16/2016

The Cures Act aims to increase the speed by which new drugs are brought to market by streamlining clinical trials, allowing the use of patient data in the regulatory review process, and modernizing U.S. Food and Drug...more

2016 Health Care Year in Review

Burr & Forman on 12/12/2016

Since I began writing this year-end review in 2013, there have been some common themes – a shift to pay for quality and away from fee-for service, much of which has been brought about by the Affordable Care Act (ACA): efforts...more

Recent Developments in Patient Engagement and Healthcare Cost Initiatives

Pierce Atwood LLP on 12/12/2016

In the wake of the recent flurry of commentary on the answer to the question of “What will happen to the Affordable Care Act?” the Commonwealth Fund released a new survey addressing how high-needs patients experience health...more

The Trump Administration: The Future of Health Care

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP on 12/7/2016

The election of Donald J. Trump as the 45th President of the United States, along with the Republican control of the majority of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, will likely set in motion a major overhaul of...more

Will Employers’ ACA Obligations Change Under the Trump Administration?

Perkins Coie on 11/22/2016

During his campaign, President-elect Trump promised to make the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) a priority. Now that the election is over, what should employers expect? We don’t have a crystal ball,...more

The Road to Higher Out-of-Pocket Medical Costs is Paved with Good Intentions: The Unintended Consequences of High Deductible...

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 10/6/2016

High-deductible health plans (HDHPs) are among the fastest growing health plans in both the individual and group markets. For calendar year 2017, the IRS defines an HDHP as any health plan with a minimum deductible of $1300...more

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) › Medicare › Employee Benefits