K&L Gates Triage: An Insider’s Perspective on the Health Care Debate in Washington, DC
On April 29, 2024, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) released a final regulation (the “Final Rule”) that rescinded the Trump Administration rule that expanded the availability of association health plans (“AHPs”) (“Trump DOL...more
On April 29, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued a final rule (the “Final Rule”) rescinding the 2018 Association Health Plan rule (“2018 AHP Rule”), thereby marking a return to the more rigid pre-2018...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would rescind a 2018 DOL rule entitled “Definition of Employee – Association Health Plans,”...more
On December 19, 2023, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a proposed rule rescinding a Trump Administration rule that expanded the availability of association health plans (“AHPs”) (the “Proposed Rule”)....more
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
The Biden Administration wasted no time in implementing some of the new President’s campaign promises relating to health insurance and the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). First, on February 10 the Department of Justice filed a...more
In the opening days of his administration, President Biden has signed a flurry of Executive Orders impacting multiple sectors of the U.S. economy. This article summarizes the Orders that impact employee benefits and...more
As with many of the issues at stake in the upcoming Presidential election, the future of how Americans will obtain healthcare is a core issue this November. The Trump administration previously outlined its view that...more
In 2019, the Department of Labor (DOL) continued its trend of providing limited advance guidance under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA). By volume, the amount of 2019 guidance...more
2019 saw court hearings of a number of cases related to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Several other Trump administration policies were also challenged, including Medicare payment policies, price transparency, how the...more
The budget stand-off continued this week. Legislators rolled out a number of mini-budgets this week, but their futures are uncertain. The General Assembly will take a break next week for the Labor Day holiday, so it will...more
Agriculture - WCTI 12: Local farmer says industry is in crisis It is a rough year for farmers across the country, including here in eastern North Carolina.Jason Jones, a farmer in Cove City, says this year has devastated...more
The state budget impasse enters its seventh week today, with no visible progress. Some reports claim communication is almost non-existent between the two sides. While the budget remains in gridlock with Medicaid expansion...more
It was business as usual for members of the North Carolina General Assembly again this week. The Senate wrapped things up early in the week, while the House carried on with session and committee meetings through Thursday....more
On June 24, 2019, President Trump signed Executive Order 13877, Improving Price and Quality Transparency in American Healthcare to Put Patients First. This is the President's third executive order affecting the health care...more
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued final regulations in June 2018, which loosened the DOL’s long-standing sub-regulatory guidance and allowed more organizations to form Association Health Plans (“AHPs”). ...more
Who’s Running USCIS? The Buzz was away last week, so we didn’t get a chance to comment on the departure of L. Francis Cissna from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). It has been reported that former Virginia...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 May 13, 2019, the Department of Labor released additional guidance addressing questions about the enforcement relief announced earlier by the Department pending its appeal of the district court’s ruling that invalidated...more
Top DOL Official to Depart. This week the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced that Chief of Staff Nicholas Geale will resign his position effective May 31, 2019. Geale is a veteran of the D.C. labor policy debates,...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
As we predicted in our last Deep Dive, the Department of Labor (DOL) has appealed the District Court for the District of Columbia’s ruling in State of New York, et al. v. United States Department of Labor, et al. which...more
Last week, the Department of Labor (DOL) responded to the district court decision striking down the final regulations expanding the ability for a group of unrelated employers to form an organization in order to offer health...more