As we round out the first month of the new year, many employers are reviewing and updating employee handbooks and workplace policies. At the same time, employers are increasingly offering or considering educational benefits...more
As we have discussed in previous blogs, there have been a number of recent changes to the HIPAA privacy rule requiring action from plan sponsors. As you will likely recall, in December of 2024, all health plans covered by...more
1/23/2026
/ Drug & Alcohol Abuse ,
Effective Date ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
Notice of Privacy Practices ,
Notice Requirements ,
PHI ,
Plan Administrators ,
Privacy Laws ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
Substance Abuse
Earlier this month, the IRS issued guidance on the health savings account (HSA) changes enacted as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). While the guidance does not significantly alter the provisions announced when...more
12/26/2025
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Comment Period ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
HDHPs ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
IRS ,
New Guidance ,
One Big Beautiful Bill Act ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Taxation ,
Telehealth
Join our Employee Benefits team for a concise webinar covering the top benefits issues plan sponsors should begin thinking about before year-end.
From compliance deadlines and administrative issues to plan document changes...more
The IRS released its annual update for the cost-of-living adjustments for 2026. Similar to the adjustments made last year, there are widespread increases for 2026. ...more
The Form 5500 is the information return that must be filed by most employee benefit plans subject to ERISA (unless an exception applies), and failure to file this annual return for a plan can result in assessment of penalties...more
While most plan sponsors understand that their plans must offer continuation coverage under COBRA for their medical benefits, many administrators find themselves on less solid ground when it comes to COBRA coverage and health...more
8/22/2025
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Cafeteria Plans ,
COBRA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Flexible Savings Accounts (FSAs) ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Former Employee ,
Premiums
Several new lawsuits have been filed recently alleging that employers violated HIPAA’s non-discrimination rule by charging higher health insurance premiums to employees who use tobacco products. ...more
8/13/2025
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Penalties ,
Tobacco ,
Wellness Programs
State laws seeking to regulate pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) have increased significantly over the past few years. As it stands, all 50 states have laws that regulate PBMs in some way, but all are unique. However, most of...more
7/7/2025
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Drug Pricing ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Insurance Industry ,
New Legislation ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Rutledge v Pharmaceutical Care Management Association ,
Self-Funded Health Plans ,
State Legislatures
As businesses continue to respond to recent shifts in the U.S. economy, some employers have had to make the challenging decision to implement cost-cutting measures and reductions to their workforce....more
Last week, the Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services (the “Departments”) issued a nonenforcement policy regarding the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) final regulations,...more
5/27/2025
/ Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Final Rules ,
Joint Policy Statements ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
MHPAEA ,
Non-Enforcement ,
Regulatory Reform ,
U.S. Treasury
Under SECURE 2.0, plan sponsors were granted discretion to determine whether or not the plan would recoup "inadvertent benefit overpayments." However, SECURE 2.0, did not define the term, leaving implementation of the new...more
4/18/2025
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Employee Benefits ,
EPCRS ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Interim Guidance ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
New Guidance ,
Overpayment ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act
Late last year, the Department of Labor (DOL) launched the public Retirement Savings Lost and Found Database. Created as part of SECURE 2.0, the DOL hopes that the database will serve as a centralized location to help missing...more
4/11/2025
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Databases ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Missing Plan Participants ,
Proposed Rules ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act
On February 25, 2025, the White House issued a new executive order aimed at implementing many of the Administration's previously issued directives to health plans. ...more
Just before the holidays, two bills impacting reporting under the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), H.R. 3801 (EMPLOYER REPORTING IMPROVEMENT ACT) and H.R. 3797 (PAPERWORK BURDEN REDUCTION ACT), passed both houses and were sent to...more
Earlier this year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a number of new notices updating and clarifying the preventive services expenses that high deductible health plans (“HDHP”) can cover without affecting a...more
Last month, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury (Departments), issued the highly anticipated final rule under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA). ...more
10/16/2024
/ Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Final Rules ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Mental Health ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
MHPAEA ,
NQTLs ,
Substance Abuse
As the temperatures continue to rise, regulations and litigation related to employer-sponsored group health plans have followed suit. As these new rules continue to evolve, we are often asked whether a self-insured group...more
7/17/2024
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Protection ,
Gender Identity ,
Health Insurance ,
Self-Funded Health Plans ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
Earlier this month, a Mayo Clinic employee filed a proposed class action against the clinic, arguing that the clinic’s employee health plan and its third-party administrator (TPA) Medica, underpaid for services performed by...more
For the vast majority of records maintained by public schools, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) is not applicable. This is because most records that contain medical information related to a...more
4/10/2024
/ Business Associates ,
Covered Entities ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
FERPA ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
Medical Records ,
PHI ,
Public Schools ,
School Districts ,
Students
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) gave plan sponsors an early Christmas gift with the release of new guidance late last year addressing several key provisions contained in SECURE 2.0. A welcome portion of the notice was...more
1/26/2024
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Distribution Rules ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Contributions ,
Employer Contributions ,
New Guidance ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retirement Plan ,
Roth IRA ,
SECURE Act ,
Vesting
Late last year, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued its first HIPAA settlement agreement involving a ransomware attack. In the press release announcing the settlement, HHS stated that they began...more
1/5/2024
/ Business Associates ,
Covered Entities ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Security Rule ,
OCR ,
PHI ,
Ransomware ,
Settlement