Federal and state activity in the initial weeks after the US Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision largely focused on litigation and executive and state legislative action designed...more
The COVID-19 pandemic brought multiple temporary changes for ERISA-governed group health and welfare plans. Certain coverage mandates apply for only the duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency (the Public Health...more
The weeks after the US Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision have seen an array of federal and state actions on the issue of access to abortion-related services, including new...more
The US Supreme Court released its opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health on June 24. The decision overturns prior Supreme Court decisions in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which held that the US Constitution...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2022-24 on April 29 to provide the inflation-adjusted amounts for health savings accounts (HSAs) in calendar year 2023....more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022, which was signed March 15, again permits first-dollar coverage for telehealth services without jeopardizing health savings account (HSA) eligibility, effective April 1, 2022,...more
In the case of Texas Medical Ass'n, et al. v. US Department of Health and Human Services, et al., the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on February 23 invalidated portions of the second interim final rule...more
The US Departments of Labor, Health & Human Services, and Treasury issued new frequently asked questions on February 4, 2022, regarding coverage of over-the-counter, at-home COVID-19 tests at no cost sharing (i.e.,...more
The US Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury issued their 2022 Report to Congress regarding their enforcement activities under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act as required under the...more
The US Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury (collectively, the Departments) on January 10 published much-anticipated FAQs implementing President Joseph Biden’s announcement last month to expand...more
The Department of Labor (Department) issued Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2021-03 (FAB) on December 30, 2021, announcing a temporary enforcement policy for group health plan service provider disclosures under ERISA Section...more
Permissible Flexibility under Code Section 125 Pursuant to IRS Notice 2021-15 Notice 2021-15 offered plan sponsors the flexibility to adopt any of the following options despite the longstanding rules under Section 125 of the...more
11/9/2021
/ Affordable Care Act ,
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
COBRA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
NQTLs ,
TPAs
As we get closer to the September 30 expiration date of the COBRA premium subsidy provided under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the IRS has issued a second set of FAQs in Notice 2021-46 (Notice) to supplement its prior...more
On July 19, the US Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury (the Departments) issued Part 47 of their frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Affordable Care Act (ACA) implementation. There are three new...more
The US Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (the Departments) along with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued Requirements Related to Surprise Billing; Part I on July 1. ...more
The Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2021-31, providing the much-anticipated guidance plan sponsors, multiemployer plans, and COBRA administrators have been waiting for related to the COBRA subsidy provisions under the...more
5/21/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Infectious Diseases ,
IRS ,
New Legislation ,
Premium Subsidies ,
Relief Measures ,
Tax Credits
US President Joseph Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have consistently framed their policies with what they call the four major “crises” facing the nation: COVID-19, the economy, climate, and inequity. ...more
4/30/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Immigration Reform ,
Labor Reform ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Relief Measures ,
Renewable Energy ,
Tax Reform
As we described in our March 15, 2021 LawFlash, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) includes a 100% COBRA premium subsidy for any employee or dependent who is a COBRA qualified beneficiary ...more
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 includes a COBRA premium subsidy and increases the dependent care flexible spending account (DCFSA) limits. While the availability of the COBRA premium subsidy is a requirement, the...more
3/16/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dependent Care ,
Employee Benefits ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Legislation ,
Relief Measures
President Joseph R. Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 on March 11, which provides $1.9 trillion in relief funds across a broad spectrum of categories, including additional support for vaccine distribution,...more
3/11/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
CARES Act ,
Child Tax Credit ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Defense Production Act ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Mortgages ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Popular ,
Relief Measures ,
Tax Credits ,
Tribal Governments ,
Unemployment Benefits
At the 11th hour, the US Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), with coordination and review by the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Health and Human Services (collectively, the...more
As discussed in our earlier LawFlash, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Act) contains certain permissible provisions plan sponsors may adopt to offer employees greater flexibility under a healthcare flexible spending...more
As we described in our LawFlash from last spring, the US Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) (collectively, the Agencies) issued EBSA Notice 2020-01...more
As one of his first actions in office, President Joe Biden has issued an executive order ensuring that last year’s US Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County is applied immediately and efficiently by all federal...more
1/25/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Executive Orders ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
Immediately following his inauguration on January 20, US President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. began taking executive action to enact many of his administration’s initial priorities, which included a number of executive orders,...more
1/22/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
DACA ,
Eviction ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreclosure ,
Infectious Diseases ,
LGBTQ ,
Masks ,
Moratorium ,
Muslims ,
Paris Agreement ,
Regulatory Freeze ,
Regulatory Mandates ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Travel Ban ,
Workplace Safety