Labor & Employment Symposium - Topics: Religious Accommodations—Vaccinations; DOL Mental Health Parity Audits
The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act and its implementing regulations and guidance (MHPAEA) prohibit health insurance policies and group health plans that cover mental health and substance use disorder (MH/SUD)...more
House Education & the Workforce Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee Holds Hearing on ERISA’s 50th Anniversary. Members and witnesses assessed how the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA)...more
Congress is back from a long August recess. However, it is only back for a few weeks. During this window, there is only one major thing Congress must do: extend government funding past the September 30 deadline through a...more
We are sometimes asked whether a self-funded group health plan is required to cover gender-affirming medical services. As this post explains in detail, it is generally impracticable for a self-funded ERISA-covered plan to...more
In a win for plaintiffs, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently reversed a district court’s dismissal of key claims in the case of Ryan S. v. UnitedHealth Group, Inc. The case provides useful guidance for...more
A recently decided US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit case, Ryan S. v. UnitedHealth Group, Inc., offers some useful insights on the enforcement by private litigants of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act...more
To all those who work in the employee benefits arena, whether in legal, finance, benefits administration, payroll, tax, human resources, or many other disciplines, this is our annual reminder to celebrate the valuable and...more
The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) requires health plans and insurers to offer mental health coverage in “parity” with a plan’s medical or surgical coverage. In 2024, as the post-COVID era brings a...more
Sponsors of self-funded ERISA plans have fiduciary obligations to plan participants, which includes the obligation to provide a full and fair review of claims and effectively and meaningfully communicate or engage with plan...more
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
Guidance on the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (the "MHPAEA") recently released by the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury (the "Departments") proposes significant requirements for...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
This post continues our investigation of proposed regulations under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) issued by the US Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury (the...more
Editor’s Note: In the article below, Manatt discusses the Ninth Circuit’s new opinion in the ongoing Wit v. United Behavioral Health litigation and the changes from the now-vacated January 2023 Wit decision. ...more
On July 25, the Department of Labor, Department of the Treasury, and Department of Health and Human Services (the Departments) released new Proposed Rules (Proposed Rules) that clarify certain requirements imposed by the...more
Last week, the departments of the Treasury, Labor and Health and Human Services (collectively, the Departments) published long-awaited proposed regulations intended to clarify and improve compliance with the federal mental...more
With the COVID-19 public health emergency and the presidential declaration of national emergency intended to end on May 11 and the US government recently issuing guidance on unwinding these emergency declarations, this...more
Much has been written about the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson to overturn the constitutional right to abortion. For employers in particular, the Dobbs decision raised a number of questions about employee...more
The Mental Health Matters Act, passed in the US House of Representatives on September 29, significantly expands the US Department of Labor’s authority to enforce or file civil litigation with respect to mental health parity...more
The Mitchell Williams Insurance Regulatory team of lawyers recently attended the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) 2022 Summer National Meeting which was held in Portland, Oregon on August 9-13th. We have...more
Amazon. Bank of America. Citigroup. Dick’s Sporting Goods. JP Morgan. Kroger. Meta. Microsoft. Procter & Gamble. Target. Walt Disney Company. These are just a few of what is a growing list of companies that have offered to...more
Not surprisingly, leading up to and in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, our employee benefits team has been spending a lot of time helping our clients wade through...more
In a previous post, we reported on the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization which reversed Roe v. Wade, and renders a woman’s right to make decisions regarding, and seek medical treatment...more