The Chartwell Chronicles: An Overview of New Jersey Workers' Compensation
Midyear Premium Increases and Cafeteria Plan Rules
The D&O Renewal Market: Will the Wild Ride of Premium Increases, Stretched Capacity and Restrictive Terms Continue?
Health Reimbursement Arrangement Update
Podcast: Health Reimbursement Arrangements
Is Private/Non-Profit D&O Coverage Under Priced?
Does the Affordable Care Act really make health insurance more affordable?
For the first time in four years, the IRS adjusted the affordability percentage used for the shared responsibility penalties. The IRS recently announced that the affordability percentage for 2025 will be 9.02%....more
Effective June 28, 2024, a significant change has been enacted through L. 2024, A4705 (c. 21), which increases the annual assessment rate for Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs). This new legislation raises the HMO...more
On August 8, a coalition of 15 state attorneys general sued CMS in the North Dakota federal court seeking to overturn a May 2024 CMS final rule making Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients eligible for...more
On June 27, the D.C. District Court struck down CMS’ 2020 approval of a 10-year renewal for the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) 2.0 Medicaid Section 1115 demonstration (Rose v. Becerra). In addition to the atypical 10-year...more
This study summarizes research conducted on behalf of the Rhode Island Foundation and partner organizations in early 2024....more
Is Medicare Advantage really a Disadvantage for seniors and taxpayers? Our nation is graying rapidly. Every day, 10,000 baby boomers, members of one of the largest generations in U.S. history, hit the traditional...more
For the third year in a row, the IRS adjusted the affordability percentage used for the shared responsibility penalties down. The IRS recently announced that the affordability percentage for 2024 will be 8.39%. This is down...more
The Biden administration gave its stamp of approval last week to Colorado’s novel waiver under Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to require premium reductions in a public option program, a first-of-its-kind plan...more
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released its Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for the 2023 Proposed Rule on Wednesday, January 5th 2022. ...more
Office of Health Strategy (OHS) Roadmap for Strengthening and Sustaining Primary Care, Connecticut Office of Health Strategy (OHS). Draft of as November 2021. In collaboration with the state Department of Social Services...more
In a statement on Friday, December 17, 2021, Washington Governor Jay Inslee announced that employers may wait to begin collecting premiums from employees for the new Washington Cares Act (WA Cares), while legislation is under...more
Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”) in 2010, Texas has deferred to the federal government with respect to certain aspects of health plan rate review. That’s about to change. On October 19, 2021, the...more
Over the past few months, many employers have announced plans to encourage COVID-19 vaccination among their workforce by implementing either medical premium discounts for the vaccinated or surcharges for the unvaccinated. ...more
1. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel (GC) Jennifer Abruzzo mandated the seeking of more aggressive remedies in unfair labor practice (ULP) cases. Office of General Counsel Memorandum GC 21-06, Seeking Full...more
Remember the DOL/Treasury relief that tolled the COBRA election and payment deadlines for up to one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic (referred to below as “Tolling Relief”)? If you have been wondering whether, under that...more
As many companies continue to struggle with low employee COVID-19 vaccination rates, some employers are evaluating imposing higher premiums for unvaccinated employees under their group medical plans. These employers see this...more
As we previously reported, the recently enacted American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) includes a six-month COBRA premium subsidy whereby the federal government subsidizes 100% of the COBRA premium during the period of April...more
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued new guidance earlier this month on the temporary COBRA subsidies provided by the recently enacted American Rescue Plan Act (the “ARP”), which employers may find useful in administering...more
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) provides temporary COBRA continuation coverage premium assistance for certain eligible qualified beneficiaries. On April 7, 2021, the Department of Labor issued a FAQ and model...more
As previously reported in EmployNews, the American Rescue Plan Act provides “assistance eligible individuals” with the option to receive fully-subsidized COBRA coverage from April 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021....more
On April 7, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued much needed guidance to employers and their COBRA administrators on the “COBRA premium subsidy” provision of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). This provision...more
Under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), which was passed by Congress on March 11, 2021, the cost of health insurance coverage pursuant to the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (“COBRA”) is...more
A COBRA subsidy program was enacted in March 2021 under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). On April 7, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released guidance and model notices on an information…...more
Less than a month after the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) was signed into law, new U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) guidance and model forms are clearing up a number of employer concerns about the 100 percent COBRA...more
Last month I blogged about a Fourth Circuit case that saw an eleventh-hour judge recusal. The Supreme Court of North Carolina is now facing a similar issue, times five. The case involves a class action challenging a law...more