PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - ERISA Forfeiture Litigation
ERISA Blog | Changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rules A Primer for Self-Insured Group Health Plans
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - What the J&J Case Means for Plan Administrators
The No Surprises Act: A Cost Saving Opportunity for Employer Plan Sponsors
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - New Federal Rule Aims to Hold Investment Advisors to a Higher Standard
Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation: Getting Ready for 2024 – Top-Hat Plans — Special Edition Podcast
Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation: Getting Ready for 2024 - Health and Welfare Plan Developments — Special Edition Podcast
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Partial Plan Terminations
Podcast Episode 189: Adding Context to Compliance and Color To Your Legal Practice
#WorkforceWednesday: SECURE Act 2.0 - What 401(k) Plan Sponsors Need to Know - Employment Law This Week®
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Plan Administrators’ 2022 Year-End Checklist
An Inside Look as a Juror - FCRA Focus Podcast
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Multiemployer Plans
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Court Decisions Impacting Plan Sponsors and Fiduciaries
(A)ESOP's Fables - The Income and Estate Tax-Free ESOP
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - What Constitutes Plan Assets Under ERISA?
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Group Health Plan Service Provider Compensation Disclosure Requirements
Update and Discussion on Legal and Practical Issues
Welcome to 'Just Compensation'
#WorkforceWednesday: SCOTUS in Review, Biden Acts to Limit Non-Competes, NY HERO Act Model Safety Plans - Employment Law This Week®
House Education & the Workforce Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee Holds Hearing on ERISA’s 50th Anniversary. Members and witnesses assessed how the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA)...more
According to CMS, annual health care spending in the United States reached about $4.5 trillion in 2022, 9% of which (about $405 billion) was spent on prescription drugs.[1] CMS also reports that in 2022, 18% of annual health...more
Seventeen healthcare stakeholder groups have come together to support The Value in Health Care Act, a bill that a bipartisan coalition reintroduced in Congress this summer. The bill supports a shift in the medical care...more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 prohibits group health plans from agreeing to avoid making certain disclosures of provider-specific cost or quality-of-care information. This is referred to as the gag clause...more
This newsletter provides updates employers should be aware of heading into 2024, including an outline of the updated 2024 retirement and welfare plan limits, instructions related to the “gag order” attestation requirements...more
In the final days of October, the New York Department of Financial Services (“DFS) published new regulations regarding assessing, licensing, and recordkeeping for pharmacy benefit managers (“PBM”) while revising existing...more
Just when you thought the confusing COVID-19 ERISA deadline extensions were behind you, the Biden-Harris Administration asks you to reconsider. ...more
Does your company's health plan provide prescription drug coverage? If so, you have until October 15, 2022 to send a notice to individuals who are enrolled in Medicare Part A or Part B and are eligible for the company's...more
As we enter the fourth quarter of 2022, sponsors and administrators of employee benefit plans have a lot to juggle. From open enrollment and required notices to plan document deadlines, it is a busy time of year. Yet, there...more
In response to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Secretary Xavier Becerra directed HHS agencies to act within their power to...more
What You Need to Know- •A federal court sided with challengers in finding that certain CMS rules conflict with the federal No Surprises Act, pressuring healthcare providers to lower their offers in arbitration. ...more
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more
Workplace law has changed dramatically over the past two years of the pandemic. Unfortunately, 2022 (or is it “2020 too”?) is shaping up to be another year full of new rules and regulations within this volatile area of law....more
Earlier this week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued an Executive Order immediately restricting entities in the state – including employers – from compelling any individual to receive a COVID-19 vaccination if that individual...more
Employer-sponsored health plans can add air ambulance claims reporting to the list of required disclosures that will go into effect in the next several years. Under proposed regulations published September 16, 2021, by...more
The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor and Treasury, along with the Office of Personnel Management, on July 1, 2021, issued a much-anticipated Interim Final Rule with Comment Period (IFC) –...more
Group health plans and insurers have been required since 2008 to ensure that any “nonquantitative treatment limitations” (NQTLs) imposed on mental health or substance use disorder (MH/SUD) benefits are comparable and no more...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
In the waning days of Donald Trump’s administration, the federal government passed the “No Surprises Act,” which becomes effective January 1, 2022. Like many recent state laws, the legislation is aimed at protecting patients...more
The Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has followed the guidance, jointly issued by the U.S. Departments of Labor and the Treasury, that extends benefits-related deadlines...more
This week in Washington: Hearings on the public health impact of e-cigarettes, making prescription drugs more affordable and promoting healthy aging. ...more
The first six months of 2019 have proven to be busy, challenging professionals in the labor and employment communities to keep up with a number of newly enacted laws and regulations. In the 2019: Mid-Year Outlook for...more
This Advisory supplements our previous advisories dated January 2018, December 2016, December 2015 (as supplemented in January 2016), October 2014, October 2013, November 2012, November 2011, and October 2010, addressing...more
Alston & Bird’s Week in Review provides a synopsis of the latest news in health care regulations, notices, and guidance; federal legislation and Congressional committee action; reports, studies, and analyses; and other health...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