ERISA Blog | Changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rules A Primer for Self-Insured Group Health Plans
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - IRS 2024 Health Plan Affordability Threshold May Put Some at Risk
#WorkforceWednesday: Employee and Health Benefits One Year After Dobbs - Employment Law This Week®
The Burr Broadcast April 2023 - The Official End of COVID-19 Emergencies
Taking the Pulse, A Health Care and Life Sciences Video Podcast | Episode 138: Mason Ellerbe, Lead Executive for High Value Health, OneDigital
Employment Law Now VI-121 - Top 5 Fall Things You Need To Know
How the Dobbs Supreme Court Decision Affects Employee Benefits
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Health Plan Transparency Requirements
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Group Health Plan Service Provider Compensation Disclosure Requirements
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - 2023 Benefits Forecast with Mercer
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - New Prescription Drug and Health Coverage Reporting Requirements
#WorkforceWednesday: OSHA ETS in Review, Texas Vaccine Mandate Ban, Health Premium Incentives - Employment Law This Week®
Navigating the Nuances of the COBRA Subsidy Under the American Rescue Plan Act
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Can Employers Impose a Health Insurance Surcharge on Plan Participants Not Vaccinated for COVID-19?
AGG Talks: Solving Employers’ Problems - Health Plan Premium Surcharges for the Unvaccinated: Are They Legal and How Do They Work?
Podcast: What's New for Insurers in Mental Health Parity Compliance - Diagnosing Health Care
Leading in a Lonely World Podcast: Meet Jamie Pagliaro, a Leader Who has Made His “Passion” for Helping Others His Life’s Work
COBRA Deadlines and Proofs of Mailing in Carter v. Southwest Airlines Co. Board of Trustees
Midyear Premium Increases and Cafeteria Plan Rules
How the American Rescue Plan Act Affects COBRA
On September 9, the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury (collectively, the Departments) released a final rule to strengthen implementation of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity...more
On Monday, September 9, 2024, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury (the “Departments”) issued their final rule regarding the nonquantitative treatment limitation (NQTL) comparative analysis...more
The Biden administration unveiled its FFY 2025 budget, which calls for $7.3 trillion in spending. In the proposed budget, Biden maintains his pledge to focus on expanding and transforming the nation’s mental health system. He...more
Over ten years ago, individuals and businesses insured by health plans that contract with Sutter Health filed a class action lawsuit against Sutter Health alleging antitrust violations under federal and California laws....more
Imagine you are a corporate Human Resources/Total Rewards leader who receives a request from a state’s law enforcement agency for health plan records about a plan participant’s abortions or other reproductive health care. How...more
We are sometimes asked whether a self-funded group health plan is required to cover gender-affirming medical services. As this post explains in detail, it is generally impracticable for a self-funded ERISA-covered plan to...more
It is critical for employers and plan fiduciaries/administrators to stay informed of HIPAA privacy and security-related legal developments because most employer sponsored group health plans — regardless of the employer’s...more
In just a few days’ time, recently promulgated federal final rules addressing sex-based nondiscrimination in the administration of health care benefits have created a flurry of healthcare industry activity. The angst arises...more
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
In the constantly changing health insurance landscape, level-funded health plans are steadily gaining ground as a viable middle approach between fully insured health plan and self-funded health plans—arguably offering...more
Many employers offer health insurance as a way to recruit and retain talent. Sponsoring a group health plan, however, can subject the employer plan sponsor to significant legal and regulatory burdens deriving from laws such...more
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has filed court pleadings stating that it does not intend to initiate enforcement actions against plans that maintain copay accumulator programs....more
Last week the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reminded health plans and health insurance issuers that the deadline for electronically filing attestations of compliance with the prohibition against so-called gag...more
The Medicare Secondary Payer provisions (MSP) apply to group health plans sponsored by employers with 20 or more employees, in both the private and public sectors. MSP’s mandatory reporting requirements are designed to...more
By December 31, 2023, health plans and insurers must submit an attestation of compliance with the “anti-gag rules” of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA). The rules apply to all agreements entered into on or...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Employer health plan sponsors, administrators, and insurers have been eagerly awaiting the U.S. Department of Labor’s upcoming guidance on mental health parity. According to recent reports, newly proposed...more
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has stayed the broad application of a district court decision that would have invalidated a number of preventive care requirements under the Affordable Care Act. As a result, health plans,...more
Washington’s law regulating “health care benefit managers” (“HCBMs”) went into effect on January 1, 2022. Although Washington’s regulatory scheme for HCBMs has some similarities with how other states regulate “third party...more
On March 30, Judge Reed O’Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a decision in Braidwood Management Inc. v. Becerra (“Braidwood”), invalidating the Affordable Care Act’s (“ACA’s”) mandate...more
As explained in part I of our Preparing for the End of the COVID-19 Emergency Declaration series, the Public Health Emergency (“PHE”) and National Emergency (“NE”) are coming to a close. While the Biden Administration had...more
On April 25, 2023, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders and Ranking Member Bill Cassidy introduced a package of legislation aimed at lowering prescription drug prices. The...more
Where did the time go? Just a brief 1,199 days after it began, the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) is coming to an end. The PHE formally ends on May 11, 2023, short of any unexpected developments. And that means the...more
Part I: COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing Coverage - On January 30, 2023, the Biden Administration announced that it intends for the National Emergency (NE) relating to the COVID-19 pandemic to end on May 11, 2023....more
On January 30, 2023, the Biden Administration announced that it intends for the National Emergency (“NE”) relating to the COVID-19 pandemic to end on May 11, 2023. Shortly after, the Secretary of the Department of Health and...more
On March 30, 2023, the District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued an opinion and order in Braidwood Mgmt. Inc. v. Becerra that vacates the implementation and enforcement of certain preventive service provisions...more