COVID-19 Impact for Health & Welfare Plans (Troutman Sanders and Pepper Hamilton COVID-19 Issues for Employers Podcast Series)
After nearly three years of emergency measures related to COVID-19, the U.S. government acted this spring to officially end the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency and the National Emergency. Accordingly, the Departments of...more
The Biden Administration announced on Jan. 30, 2023, its intent to end the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) on May 11, 2023. Fortunately, the 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) extends certain key telehealth...more
The Biden administration has announced its intent to end the COVID-19 National Emergency (NE) and the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) on May 11, 2023 (read our prior article for more information). In response to the...more
The Biden Administration recently announced its plan to end both the National Emergency and Public Health Emergency for COVID-19 (together, the “COVID-19 Emergencies”) on May 11, 2023. The end of the COVID-19...more
If you sponsor a high deductible health plan (“HDHP”) and have been tracking telehealth relief, your head may be spinning and rightfully so! There have been various laws and guidance impacting HDHPs and telehealth since 2020...more
Recently Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 (“2023 CAA”). Among other things, the 2023 CAA extends, for a second time, the telehealth relief provided under the CARES Act. The CARES Act permitted high...more
As we approach our third new year since the first reported cases of COVID-19, related relief may seem like old news. Although much of the government-sponsored pandemic relief has expired, there are aspects that remain germane...more
On March 15, 2022, the President signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (H.R. 2471) into law (“CAA 2022”). The CAA 2022 is largely a spending bill but also includes, among other things, a much-anticipated new...more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022, which was signed March 15, again permits first-dollar coverage for telehealth services without jeopardizing health savings account (HSA) eligibility, effective April 1, 2022,...more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (the Act), was passed by the U.S. House and Senate on March 9th and 10th, 2022, and signed into law by the President on March 15, 2022. The Act extends certain telehealth...more
Today, President Biden signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (“CAA 2022”), which, among other things, temporarily renews certain relief to individuals to have access to telehealth coverage and other remote...more
The recently enacted Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (CAA 2022) is best known for preventing a government shutdown and providing aid to Ukraine, but its more than 2,600 pages also contain language that revives a...more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “Act”) was signed into law by the president on December 27, 2020. The Act, comprised of several pieces of legislation, contains a number of employee benefits-related provisions,...more
This chronology traces the major ongoing relief provided by legislation, regulatory action, and other agency guidance to assist ERISA plan participants, fiduciaries, and sponsors during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic through...more
On May 12, the IRS issued Notice 2020-29 “COVID-19 Guidance Under Section 125 Cafeteria Plans and Related to High Deductible Health Plans” and Notice 2020-33 “Section 125 Cafeteria Plans – Modification of Permissive Carryover...more
Troutman Sanders and Pepper Hamilton are producing a series of podcasts to discuss employee benefits, executive compensation, and labor and employment issues that employers are confronting in light of the COVID-19 pandemic,...more
As employers start to think about asking their employees to return to work, in addition to all of the employment law issues, there are also employee benefit plan considerations. Employers need to consider all their benefit...more
As we noted in our March 13, 2020 blog post, the Internal Revenue Service advised in IRS Notice 2020-15 that a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) is permitted to pay for COVID-19-related testing and treatment, without...more
On March 27, the President signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act” or “Act”), which contains a number of tax- and employee benefit-related provisions that are intended to provide economic...more
Health and welfare benefit plans and insurers are affected by various provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) passed on March 27, 2020....more
On Friday, March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) passed the Senate and House and was signed into law. In addition to spending $2 trillion to support individuals and...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On March 27, 2020, the House of Representatives followed the Senate’s lead in voting overwhelmingly to pass the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The President signed the...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On March 19, Senator McConnell introduced the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. While the Act largely focuses on economic relief for businesses and individuals, it did contain...more