The US Departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (the Departments) recently issued much-anticipated final regulations under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). The newly issued...more
9/18/2024
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Mental Health ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
MHPAEA ,
NQTLs ,
Popular ,
U.S. Treasury
Recent lawsuits filed against the group health plans of two large US employers underscore the importance of implementing formal welfare benefit plan governance structures that include fiduciary committees comparable to the...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced (see Revenue Procedure 2024-25) cost-of-living adjustments to the applicable dollar limits for health savings accounts (HSAs), high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) and...more
5/10/2024
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Deductibles ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
HDHP ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
HRA ,
HSA ,
IRS
Federal legislative and regulatory activity related to employer-sponsored group health plans shows no signs of slowing, particularly with the issuance of interpretive guidance regarding the transparency and surprise-billing...more
2/26/2024
/ Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Insurance Industry ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
SCOTUS ,
Self-Funded Health Plans
Recently proposed regulations attempt to ensure that health plans allow access to mental health or substance use disorder (MH/SUD) benefits as easily as medical or surgical (M/S) benefits. The proposed regulations, issued by...more
8/17/2023
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Mental Health ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
MHPAEA ,
NQTLs ,
Safe Harbors
The US Departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (the Departments) recently issued much-anticipated proposed regulations under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) to better...more
8/4/2023
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Biden Administration ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Mental Health ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
MHPAEA ,
NQTLs ,
Proposed Regulation ,
U.S. Treasury
Recently, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced (See Revenue Procedure 2023-23) cost-of-living adjustments to the applicable dollar limits for health savings accounts (HSAs), high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) and...more
The Biden administration previously announced its intent to end the COVID-19 National Emergency (NE) and the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) on May 11, 2023 (read our series introduction for more information). On April...more
5/17/2023
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deadlines ,
Deductibles ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EBSA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health Insurance ,
Public Health Emergency ,
U.S. Treasury
The Biden administration originally announced its intent to end the COVID-19 National Emergency (NE) and the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) on May 11, 2023 (read our prior article for more information). Although the...more
5/2/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deductibles ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health Insurance ,
HSA ,
Public Health Emergency ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Vaccinations
The Biden administration has announced its intent to end the COVID-19 National Emergency (NE) and the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) on May 11, 2023 (read our prior article for more information). In response to the...more
3/22/2023
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Biden Administration ,
CARES Act ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
HDHP ,
HSA ,
IRS ,
Medicare ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Relief Measures ,
Telehealth
The Biden administration has announced its intent to end the COVID-19 National Emergency (NE) and the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) on May 11, 2023 (read our prior article for more information). In response to the...more
The Biden administration recently announced its intention to end the COVID-19 National Emergency and the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency effective May 11, 2023. These emergency declarations have been in place for nearly...more
3/20/2023
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deadlines ,
Employee Assistance Programs ,
Employee Benefits ,
HDHPs ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Mental Health ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Telehealth ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Webinars
The Biden administration has announced its intent to end the COVID-19 National Emergency (NE) and the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) on May 11, 2023 (read our prior article for more information). A topic of great...more
On January 30, 2023, the Biden administration announced its intention to make final extensions of both the COVID-19 National Emergency (NE) and the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) through May 11, 2023, at which point...more
2/24/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
CARES Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
COBRA ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employee Benefits ,
IRS ,
Medicare ,
Mental Health ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Telehealth ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
Mark your calendars to join us for our year-in-review program that will cover key tax and employee benefits issues affecting the state and local, federal and international legal landscape. We will conclude our program with...more
12/2/2022
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Events ,
Federal Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
International Tax Issues ,
IRS ,
Local Taxes ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Planning
On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (Dobbs), overturning Roe v. Wade (Roe) and upending 50 years of precedent protecting a woman’s right...more
6/29/2022
/ Abortion ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
Employee Benefits ,
Family Planning Clinics ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
Pregnancy ,
Roe v Wade ,
SCOTUS ,
Webinars
June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (Dobbs), overturning Roe v. Wade (Roe) and upending 50 years of precedent protecting a woman’s right to...more
Sometime in the next several weeks, the Supreme Court of the United States will issue its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (Dobbs). Based on the draft majority opinion authored by Justice Samuel Alito...more
6/14/2022
/ Abortion ,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Family Planning Clinics ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Insurance Industry ,
Planned Parenthood ,
Pregnancy ,
Roe v Wade ,
SCOTUS ,
State and Local Government
While the United States awaits the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson, which may overturn Roe v. Wade and eliminate the federal standard for abortion access, some states are considering setting their own standards...more
In Notice 2021-58 (the Notice), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) clarified that the one-year tolling relief periods for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) elections and initial premium payments run...more
On May 18, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued much-anticipated Notice 2021-31 (the Notice) regarding the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) premium subsidy provisions of the American Rescue...more
6/3/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Beneficiaries ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employees ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Eligibility ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
IRS ,
Premium Subsidies ,
Time Extensions
On February 18, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued clarifying guidance on the temporary special rules for health flexible spending arrangements (FSAs) and dependent care assistance programs (DCAPs) under Internal...more
2/25/2021
/ Cafeteria Plans ,
Carryover Basis ,
COBRA ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Grace Period ,
IRS ,
Medical Expenses ,
Reporting Requirements