ERISA Blog | Changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rules A Primer for Self-Insured Group Health Plans
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - IRS 2024 Health Plan Affordability Threshold May Put Some at Risk
#WorkforceWednesday: Employee and Health Benefits One Year After Dobbs - Employment Law This Week®
The Burr Broadcast April 2023 - The Official End of COVID-19 Emergencies
Taking the Pulse, A Health Care and Life Sciences Video Podcast | Episode 138: Mason Ellerbe, Lead Executive for High Value Health, OneDigital
Employment Law Now VI-121 - Top 5 Fall Things You Need To Know
How the Dobbs Supreme Court Decision Affects Employee Benefits
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Health Plan Transparency Requirements
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Group Health Plan Service Provider Compensation Disclosure Requirements
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - 2023 Benefits Forecast with Mercer
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - New Prescription Drug and Health Coverage Reporting Requirements
#WorkforceWednesday: OSHA ETS in Review, Texas Vaccine Mandate Ban, Health Premium Incentives - Employment Law This Week®
Navigating the Nuances of the COBRA Subsidy Under the American Rescue Plan Act
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Can Employers Impose a Health Insurance Surcharge on Plan Participants Not Vaccinated for COVID-19?
AGG Talks: Solving Employers’ Problems - Health Plan Premium Surcharges for the Unvaccinated: Are They Legal and How Do They Work?
Podcast: What's New for Insurers in Mental Health Parity Compliance - Diagnosing Health Care
Leading in a Lonely World Podcast: Meet Jamie Pagliaro, a Leader Who has Made His “Passion” for Helping Others His Life’s Work
COBRA Deadlines and Proofs of Mailing in Carter v. Southwest Airlines Co. Board of Trustees
Midyear Premium Increases and Cafeteria Plan Rules
How the American Rescue Plan Act Affects COBRA
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
Imagine you are a corporate Human Resources/Total Rewards leader who receives a request from a state’s law enforcement agency for health plan records about a plan participant’s abortions or other reproductive health care. How...more
It is critical for employers and plan fiduciaries/administrators to stay informed of HIPAA privacy and security-related legal developments because most employer sponsored group health plans — regardless of the employer’s...more
One of the most common questions that we receive is whether an employee can change their benefits elections after the plan year has already started (also referred to as a mid-year change). The answer is very fact-specific...more
The U.S. Supreme Court on June 24, 2022, overruled Roe v. Wade, the seminal case in which the Court had recognized the existence of the constitutional right for individuals to obtain an abortion. In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s...more
On June 24, 2022, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org., 2022 WL 2276808 (June 24, 2022), the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade 410 U.S. 113 (1973) and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey 505...more
Employer health plans and health insurers will be required to cover over-the-counter (OTC) COVID-19 tests, even without a health care provider’s order or an individualized clinical assessment, and generally without cost...more
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), which became law on March 11, 2021, provides a 100 percent subsidy of premiums under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) beginning on April 1, 2021, through...more
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) into law. Included among the many pandemic relief provisions in ARPA is a COBRA subsidy structure that is now designed to fully subsidize...more
In a similar move as in previous years, the IRS has issued relief from certain Form 1094-C and 1095-C reporting requirements under the Affordable Care Act relating to employee health plans, as well as relief from certain...more
The IRS recently released the 2021 ACA affordability percentage in Rev. Proc. 2020-36. The 2021 percentage has increased to 9.83 percent, up from the 2020 rate of 9.78 percent. Many employers and carriers are doing prep work...more
On March 18, 2020, the Senate passed and the President signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “Families First Act” or the “Act) which was first drafted and passed by the House earlier in the week. ...more
HDHP and HSA participants - The IRS has expanded prior guidance to allow health plans to pay first-dollar costs for testing and treatment of COVID-19 without jeopardizing the participant’s HSA eligibility. ...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a notice that allows individuals to participate in a health savings account (HSA) while participating in a high deductible health plan (HDHP) that provides coverage for both the...more
The IRS has not yet finalized the ACA reporting forms (i.e., the 1094-B/C and 1095-B/C) for the 2019 tax year, so it is no surprise that the IRS issued guidance this week extending the deadline to furnish the forms to...more
Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of November 11–15, 2019. November 11, 2019: The IRS released Delegation Order 30-9 announcing the...more
In an unexpectedly broad ruling issued December 14, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas declared the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) as unconstitutional in its entirety. This decision, if ultimately...more
Massachusetts recently published guidance regarding its new Health Insurance Responsibility Disclosure (HIRD) annual filing, which is due for the first time on November 30, 2018 and then annually thereafter. This new HIRD...more
New guidance issued by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue requires Massachusetts employers with six or more employees to file an annual health insurance responsibility disclosure (HIRD) form. The form became available on...more
Under a recent Department of Labor ruling, franchise business owners that band together to form Association Health Plans are precluded from joint-employer liability that may arise from that relationship....more
Massachusetts employers with 6 or more employees will soon be required to prepare and file a new health care reporting form referred to as the “healthcare coverage form.” While reminiscent of the now repealed “Health...more
Q. Are the EEOC’s Wellness Program rules still valid? A. The ADA and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act both permit an employer to seek medical information as part of a wellness program if the employee...more
On June 22, 2017, Senate Republicans released a discussion draft of their proposal to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), titled the “Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017” (BCRA). Beyond the title change,...more
Tucked at the end of the recently enacted 300-plus-page 21st Century Cures Act (Cures Act) is a provision that offers certain small employers a new opportunity to help employees purchase individual market major medical...more
The 21st Century Cures Act (Cures) signed by President Barack Obama on Dec. 13, 2016, contains a smorgasbord of health-related provisions, from reforming federal mental health policies to increasing funding for medical...more