Transgender protections and rights in the workplace are currently the subject of much confusion. This issue extends to employer-sponsored health plans. Whether an employer-sponsored health plan must cover gender-affirming...more
Prescription medications are a necessary, albeit expensive component of any self-insured workers’ compensation program. Unfortunately, injured workers are often prescribed unnecessary prescription drugs which can lead to...more
We bring you our March Insurance Update. As college basketball programs embark on the road to the final four, we select our top four insurance cases from the past month. In a dispute over the priority of coverage, the...more
Insurers like to make their coverage obligations someone else’s problem. One of the ways they do this is by saying that another insurer has to go first. In other words, insurers will sometimes take the position that another...more
On February 16, 2023, the Supreme Court of New Jersey handed down its unanimous decision in Statewide Insurance Fund v. Star Insurance Company and held that, for purposes of determining the priority of overlapping insurance...more
In 2020, health care spending in the United States increased by nearly 10 percent to reach $4.1 trillion, or 20 percent of the U.S. economy. Although the health care industry is foundational to the health and well-being of...more
Applying Kentucky law, the Kentucky Supreme Court has held that a prior notice exclusion did not bar coverage for a claim related to a government investigation noticed and accepted by a prior insurer because the insurers were...more
On November 1, 2022, the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Division (the Division) of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment adopted final rules that employers must follow to offer private plans under Colorado’s...more
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court officially overturned Roe v. Wade in its consequential decision, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. With federal protection for abortion now dissolved, many employers are...more
On November 23, 2021, the Montana Supreme Court issued an almost unanimous decision in National Indemnity Company v. State of Montana, a ten-year-old coverage dispute arising from claims against the State of Montana alleging...more
Insurance: What is it? How does it work? Assume that Acme Co is paying premiums for commercial insurance coverage to protect itself from economic losses that may arise out of various events. These premiums are deductible...more
Eleventh Circuit Affirms “Exceptional Case” Ruling: Insurer Had No Duty to Defend Construction Debris Claim Where Amended Complaint Omitted Crucial Fact Implicating Pollution Exclusion The Eleventh Circuit, affirming the...more
In response to COVID-19, Massachusetts, Illinois, Pennsylvania and a growing list of states have directed health insurance carriers to, among other things, relax cost-sharing and enhance telemedicine services. These...more
As employers look for new ways to control healthcare costs and provide innovative healthcare offerings to their employees, employers are starting to consider the “direct-to-provider” contracting model as a way to achieve...more
The Department of Paid Family and Medical Leave (DFML) continues to issue updates concerning compliance with the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Law (PFML). The DFML’s most recent updates address private plan...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: As the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave (“PFML”) law enters the first quarter of PFML contributions, the Department of Paid Family and Medical Leave (“DFML”) has released additional guidance on...more
There were no significant changes in Vermont’s leadership team during the last election cycle. Governor Phil Scott, a Republican, was re-elected in November 2018 for another two-year term. Michael Pieciak, the Commissioner...more
It’s Not All About 2017- A casual review of the recent tax literature may leave a “lay person” with the impression that, prior to the passage of the 2017 tax legislation, tax advisers had nothing else to write about....more
It is not unusual for Tenants, especially larger ones, to negotiate for so-called “self-insurance” in their Leases. This concept can be applied to any form of insurance that a Landlord may require from a Tenant, except for...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued a December 22nd report titled: Self-Insurance for Companies with Multiple Cleanup Liabilities Presents Financial and...more
The New York Paid Family Leave Benefits Law requires all employers covered by the New York Workers’ Compensation Law to provide coverage for paid family leave (PFL) benefits for their employees on or before January 1, 2018....more
On April 5, the “Self-Insurance Protection Act” passed the House and moved to the Senate. This bill, if enacted, would amend ERISA, the Public Health Service Act and the Internal Revenue Code (the “Big 3” statutes containing...more
On March 1 the U.S. Supreme Court again reinforced the broad preemptive scope of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 29 U.S.C.A. §1001. In Gobeille v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., 136 S. Ct. 936, the court...more
A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision reminds us that straying into the land of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) can be hazardous for an unwary state or health care provider. When ERISA preempts a...more
On March 1, 2016, the Supreme Court held that a Vermont law requiring detailed reporting of health data could not be applied to self-funded plans subject to ERISA. In Gobeille v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, the Court,...more