K&L Gates Triage: An Insider’s Perspective on the Health Care Debate in Washington, DC
2020 saw the courts continuing to play an important role in health policy with several notable lawsuits related to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Several other Trump administration policies were challenged, including Medicare...more
In State of New York v. United States Department of Labor, the District Court for the District of Columbia held that the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) final regulations on association health plans (“AHPs”) issued on June...more
On April 29, 2019, the United States Department of Labor (the “DOL”) released a policy statement providing transitional relief from the potential adverse consequences arising from a District Court’s vacating portions of the...more
On March 28, 2019, the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia issued an opinion and order vacating key portions of the Department of Labor’s regulation, published in June 2018, which had expanded the definition...more
On March 28, a District of Columbia federal court agreed with a New York-led challenge by a group of 11 states and the District of Columbia and found that the Department of Labor’s (DOL) 2018 association health plan (AHP)...more
This is the one hundred and nineteenth issue in our series of alerts for employers on selected topics on health care reform. ...more
A recent ruling by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia calls into question the recently expanded regulations allowing small employers to band together to establish Association Health Plans....more
On March 28, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia struck down key parts of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) final rule expanding the availability of association health plans (AHPs). In State of New...more
A federal court struck down key portions of the new association health plan (AHP) regulations last week, just days before the fledgling rules for self-insured medical plans were slated to go into effect regarding...more
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has set aside the most significant portions of the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) regulations on Association Health Plans (AHPs)....more
The Affordable Care Act returned to the front page this weekend when a federal district court in Texas issued an opinion striking down the entire law as unconstitutional. ...more
On December 14, 2018, a Texas federal court declared the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA) unconstitutional. Despite this broad holding (and clickbait headlines), employers should not expect to see any significant changes to...more
In the last post in this series, we examined the regulatory response by certain states to the final regulations governing association health plans, which were issued by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in June 2018. As we...more
The results of the midterm elections will bring about a significant change to the federal health care policy landscape in 2019. Democratic control of the House of Representatives will effectively end any legislative...more
Over the past year, the courts considered cost-sharing reduction payments, the individual mandate, consumer protections, association and short-term health plans. Below is an overview of where ACA-related court rulings stand,...more
On October 12, 2017, President Trump signed a “Presidential Executive Order Promoting Healthcare Choice and Competition Across the United States” (the “Executive Order”) to “facilitate the purchase of insurance across state...more
Last year, the President issued an Executive Order directing the Secretary of the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue regulations to expand access to association health plans (AHPs). Earlier this year, the DOL issued final...more
In a summary of the recently issued Association Health Plan (AHP) final regulations, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) rightly observed that AHPs are a species of multi-employer welfare arrangements, or MEWAs, that are...more
This is the third article in our series on Association Health Plans (AHP). This week’s discussion focuses on the mixed reaction to the recent Department of Labor (DOL) AHP. In the health benefits market, some state-based...more
Almost two years into the new presidential administration, and with highly consequential and hotly debated mid-term elections around the corner, Littler’s Workforce Policy Institute’s Labor Day Report examines the state of...more
New guidance helps plan sponsors and employers manage and operate AHPs - The Department of Labor (DOL) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently released guidance related to the DOL's June 28th final rule on association...more
In our blog post of July 10, 2018, we discussed the key elements of the Final Rule issued on June 21, 2018 with respect to Association Health Plans (AHPs). As we noted, the expansion of ERISA’s definition of an employer and...more
Department of Labor Issues Final Rule that Expands Association Health Plans - On June 21, 2018, the Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a final rule that establishes additional...more
On Aug. 1, 2018, the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor and Treasury jointly issued the Short-Term, Limited-Duration Insurance Final Rule. The rule is the second of three regulations resulting from...more
The U.S. Departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services have jointly issued final rules modifying the definition of short-term, limited-duration insurance (STLDI). STLDI provides health coverage that is...more