Labor & Employment Symposium - Topics: Religious Accommodations—Vaccinations; DOL Mental Health Parity Audits
It was a lively year for health benefits. Our Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group unpacks 2023, from the end of the COVID-19 emergencies to the much-anticipated Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act...more
We are pleased to present our annual End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we present our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. This Part 1 covers year-end health and welfare plan issues....more
The time may have come to add a welfare plan committee to your company’s governance of employee benefit plans. New legal obligations and other developments impose fiduciary risks for welfare plans similar to what already...more
We previously reported on proposed regulations under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). If adopted in final form, these regulations would vastly complicate compliance by group health plans and health...more
On April 2, 2021, the Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services departments (the “Departments”) issued ACA FAQs Part 45 (“FAQ 45”), which elaborates on the new reporting requirements implemented by the Consolidated...more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) amended the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) to include substantial new compliance requirements. The Department of Labor (DOL), Health and Human...more
In recent years, reports have indicated robust, and in some respects increasing, enforcement activities by the US Department of Labor (DOL) related to ERISA. The DOL recently issued its enforcement statistics for fiscal year...more
On April 23, 2018, the Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS) and Treasury (together, the “Agencies”) released proposed frequently asked questions (“FAQs”) related to nonquantitative treatment limitations...more
By way of background, the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) prevents group health plans and health insurance issuers that provide mental health or substance use disorder benefits from imposing less...more
On April 23, 2018, the Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS) and Treasury (together, the “Agencies”) released proposed frequently asked questions (“FAQs”) related to required disclosures and...more
The Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of the Treasury, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are making good on their promise to issue more guidance and to aggressively enforce the federal Mental...more
Editor's Overview - For over two decades, federal law has required covered health plans and insurers to ensure that certain mental health benefits are in parity with offered medical/surgical benefits. The meaning of...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently released a draft model form for plan participants to request disclosures from group health plans and insurers about restrictions on mental health coverage. The form is designed to...more
The Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services recently released a frequently asked question (“FAQ”) regarding the implementation of the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction...more
The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (“MHPAEA”) generally requires that the financial requirements and treatment limitations that apply to mental health and substance use disorder (“MH/SUD”) benefits...more
Employers can expect some challenging information requests about the mental health and substance abuse benefits offered to employees and their dependents through group health plans, if a draft form released by federal...more
The Senate’s health care reform bill was released today, and we will report on that separately. In the meantime, below are key health care reform developments from the week of June 12th....more
While on this day, most people focus on the heart, we’re going to spend a little time focusing on the head. Under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), health plans generally cannot impose more stringent...more
Over the last six years, employers and insurers have been working diligently to adapt to the ever-changing landscape under the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, the agencies have also issued comprehensive...more
In Depth - The US Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS) and Treasury (collectively, the Departments) published frequently asked questions (FAQs) on April 20, 2016, clarifying the implementation of...more
On April 20, the “Big Three” agencies (DOL, Treasury/IRS, and HHS) released another set of FAQs (the 31st, for those of you counting at home). Consistent with earlier FAQs, the new FAQs cover a broad range of items under the...more
This is the 54th in a series of WorkCite articles concerning the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and its companion statute, the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (referred to collectively as the...more
On October 23, 2015, the U.S. Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS), and Treasury issued frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the implementation of preventive care and wellness provisions of the...more
On October 23, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of the Treasury (collectively, the “Departments”) jointly issued answers to frequently asked questions regarding the...more