K&L Gates Triage: An Insider’s Perspective on the Health Care Debate in Washington, DC
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
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
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
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
As previously discussed by our colleagues at ML Strategies, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) and the Department of Treasury (“Treasury”) released new guidelines (the “Guidance”) on the application and...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 first post in a blog series exploring the U.S. Department of Labor’s recently issued final regulation governing Association Health Plans (AHPs). While AHPs can be either fully-insured or self-funded, the final...more
Following last fall’s Executive Order 13813, which directs regulatory agencies to improve access to affordable employer coverage, the Department of Labor (DOL) recently released the final regulations on small business...more
In early January, Idaho Governor Butch Otter signed an executive order (EO) directing the state’s Department of Insurance (DOI) to “seek creative options” to expand “access” to health insurance coverage for Idahoans. The EO...more
The Trump Administration on Feb. 12 released its Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 budget request, titled "An American Budget." Unlike last year's budget, which was released in late May, the release of this budget conforms to the typical...more
After repeated attempts to repeal failed in 2017, overarching federal reform of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) appears unlikely in 2018. However, ongoing uncertainty and turmoil in the individual insurance market will ensure...more
In last week’s post we explained the changes made by a newly proposed Department of Labor regulation, the purpose of which is make it easier for small employers to band together to form “association health plans” (“AHPs”). In...more
The Trump Administration has published a proposed rule allowing a significant change to the definition of "employer" under ERISA that would enable small businesses and self-employed individuals to band together to create...more
This is the one hundred and seventeenth issue in our series of alerts for employers on selected topics on health care reform. This series of Health Care Reform Management Alerts is designed to provide an in-depth analysis...more
Following up on the direction provided by Executive Order 13813, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued proposed regulations that would expand the ability of small employers to band together and provide coverage under...more
On October 12, 2017 President Trump issued an Executive Order concerning a number of health plan market initiatives. One of the items included in the Executive Order was a directive to the Secretary of Labor to issue proposed...more
The Department of Labor has issue a proposed rule providing direction for sole proprietors and businesses to set up Association Health Plans (AHPs). This rulemaking stems from President Trump’s October 12, 2017 Executive...more
After multiple failed attempts by Congress to reform the Affordable Care Act (ACA), President Trump announced several weeks ago that the federal government would stop making subsidy payments to insurers who sell coverage...more
After months of failed attempts to pass any health care reform legislation, it appears efforts to pass a bipartisan bill to improve the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are picking up steam. Below is a summary of regent health care...more