States such as Illinois, Maryland, and Oregon that have enacted laws requiring health insurers to cover certain male contraception on a first-dollar basis may be creating traps for unwary employers that sponsor...more
The deadline to respond is nearing for employers that received the first wave of Letter 226J mailings proposing to assess them with Employer Shared Responsibility Payments (ESRPs) for 2015 under Section 4980H of the Internal...more
Any privately held, for-profit company could potentially be exempt from the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) requirement to provide comprehensive contraceptive coverage without cost-sharing based on the company’s “sincerely held...more
While many were hoping that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would finally be dead by now, and others are lamenting the fact that the “repeal-and-replace” attempts have fallen by the wayside, we thought it may be worthwhile to...more
Employers can expect some challenging information requests about the mental health and substance abuse benefits offered to employees and their dependents through group health plans, if a draft form released by federal...more
Employers looking for strong scores on the Corporate Equality Index (CEI) in coming years may have to make some unexpected changes to their health benefit programs.
Benefit programs are one key component of CEI ratings,...more
Some employers may want to reconsider their approach to gender transition benefits after a federal court enjoined the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from enforcing its 2016 nondiscrimination regulations...more
1/13/2017
/ Abortion ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Covered Entities ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Gender Identity ,
OFCCP ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title IX
There are two key benefits takeaways for employers in the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act, which President Obama signed into law on December 13, 2016.
The act, which passed both houses of Congress by large...more
Expatriate health plans have been surprisingly difficult to reconcile with the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Proposed regulations set to take effect in 2017 provide some useful guidance to U.S. employers that sponsor expatriate...more
7/11/2016
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Expatriates ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Health Insurance ,
Minimum Essential Coverage ,
Plan Administrators ,
Proposed Regulation
As many small employers rejoice over a delayed effective date, large employers should be rolling up their sleeves to adapt their evolving shared responsibility compliance strategies for 2015 to a new final rule from the U.S....more
Don’t look now, but another HIPAA deadline is just around the corner.
As we noted last month, the deadline is looming for employer-sponsored health benefit plans to come into compliance with U.S. Department of Health...more
As you may know the Affordable Care Act imposed a new fee on issuers of individual and group health insurance policies and plan sponsors of self-funded plans. As previously noted in our blog, on December 5, 2012, the Internal...more
In This Issue:
- Email Request Does Not Constitute "Complaint"
- Former NLRB Member Joins Ogletree Deakins
- For Employers, Pay-Or-play Proposals Could Be Worse, Much Worse
- The NLRB In 2013: More Controversy...more
Beginning this fall, employer health plans—or their business associates—will have to make more comprehensive and methodical risk assessments following the discovery of an impermissible use or disclosure of unsecured...more
Could employee benefits regulatory activity under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Act) be taking a turn toward common sense?...more