Updates to Statute 1557 that Healthcare Providers Need to Know
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Can Employers Impose a Health Insurance Surcharge on Plan Participants Not Vaccinated for COVID-19?
PODCAST: Wellness Program Compliance Update
If your health insurance premiums have gone up again, you are not alone. For that reason, we frequently get questions from clients on whether there is anything they can do to get high claimants off of their plans....more
Earlier this year, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) released a final rule under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), which prohibits discrimination in health programs and activities. The 2024...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
We are pleased to present our annual End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we present our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. This Part 1 covers year-end health and welfare plan issues....more
Employers often provide an array of benefits to employees. One such benefit is a Health Flexible Spending Account (Health FSA). These accounts allow employees to contribute pre-tax dollars to be used for unreimbursed medical...more
Section 108, Division BB of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 requires the Departments of Labor, Health & Human Services and the Treasury (the “Departments”) to issue regulations under Section 2706(a) of the Public...more
Last week, the US Supreme Court blocked the OSHA standard requiring private employers with 100 employees or more to vaccinate-or-test for COVID-19 from taking effect (more info here). With the fate of that standard likely...more
Employers that are considering imposing health plan premium surcharges to encourage their employees to get vaccinated have clearer guidance on how to do so without running afoul of the nondiscrimination rules under the Health...more
On this episode of Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion, host Brydon DeWitt explores compliance considerations for employers who are considering imposing a health insurance surcharge on plan participants who are not...more
Employee benefit plans are subject to numerous laws the restrict, or at least limit, discrimination within the plans. Many benefit plan nondiscrimination rules focus on whether highly and non-highly compensated employees are...more
For years we have been trying to understand how the EEOC regulates wellness programs. Although we still do not have a complete picture, we are getting closer with the EEOC’s new Notices of Proposed Rulemaking on wellness...more
Synopsis: For years, employers have struggled to understand what level of incentives in wellness programs might be considered “voluntary” under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). ...more
INTRODUCTION - On 7 January 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) proposed two new rules designed to clarify the scope of incentives that employers may offer employees as part of a wellness program...more
Seeking to control healthcare costs, many group health plans have adopted amendments that lower reimbursement rates for the treatment of end-stage renal disease ("ESRD"), which requires long-term dialysis treatment or a...more
On Thursday, December 19, the Senate passed two spending bills to fund the government through September 30, 2020, one of which (H.R. 1865, the “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020” or the “Act”) contains the...more
Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of September 23 – 27, 2019. September 24, 2019: The IRS issued a notice that provides a safe...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently proposed regulations that scale back nondiscrimination protections under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The new regulations, proposed on May 24,...more
In this episode of Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion, Brydon DeWitt and Claire Pollock discuss what employers need to know about the current status of EEOC wellness program regulations. [Speaker: Claire Pollock]...more
In October 2016, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) sought an injunction against the implementation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) final rules on wellness programs, alleging that the...more
Employers with established wellness programs that collect health information and/or require a medical exam can no longer rely on the EEOC regulations to justify that incentives provided under their wellness programs are...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has formally withdrawn the provisions in its regulations governing wellness programs under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Genetic Information...more
With increasing employee health costs, many employers are adopting or expanding their health wellness programs. In the retirement plan area, some employers are also adopting programs to assist their employees with managing...more
Administering health plans is not the easiest task. Such plans are subject to an alphabet soup of laws, including but not limited to ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, COBRA, HIPAA, GINA, Mental Health Parity, the ADA, the...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: New Year’s resolutions typically address health and well-being. Many among us have resolved this year to get off the couch, to sweat a bit more often to the “oldies,” to meditate and be mindful, and to eat...more
As we alluded in our “Preparing for the Unknown: Open Enrollment 2018” blog post, employers that are finalizing their employee benefit plan designs in advance of the 2018 plan year would be well-advised to monitor the...more