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
February 29 brings two annual deadlines for employers that sponsor a group health plan for their employees. Medicare Part D—Creditable Coverage Disclosure to CMS - An employer with a group health plan that provides...more
Employers, this is your annual reminder that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requires sponsors of group health plans to notify eligible individuals whether the employer’s prescription drug coverage is...more
ERISA requires plan sponsors to distribute SPDs to inform participants of their benefits, rights, and obligations under the plan and describe how the plan operates. Department of Labor (DOL) regulations (available here)...more
In a win for self-funded (i.e., self-insured) health plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), the Tenth Circuit recently ruled that ERISA preempts provisions of an Oklahoma law...more
March 1 brings two annual deadlines for employers that sponsor a group health plan for their employees. Medicare Part D—Creditable Coverage Disclosure to CMS - An employer with a group health plan that provides...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
On April 19, 2022, the US Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury (collectively, the Departments) released Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding the implementation of certain reporting...more
Under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “CAA”), group health plans and health insurance issuers are required to submit certain information related to prescription drug and other health care spending to the...more
On this episode of Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion, host Brydon DeWitt is joined by Kristin Henshaw, a Senior Health and Benefits Consultant and Virginia Health Business Leader with Mercer. Kristin shares what employers...more
On this episode of Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion, host Brydon DeWitt discusses the Biden administration’s interim final rule that requires health plans to report prescription drug and health coverage costs and its...more
Group health plan sponsors are required to send annual notices (as well as at other particular times) to individuals who are eligible for Medicare Part D that explain whether the health plan’s prescription drug coverage is...more
Employers that provide prescription drug coverage (Rx Coverage) to their employees must notify all Medicare-eligible employees regarding the Rx Coverage’s creditable or non-creditable status under the Medicare Prescription...more
The Consolidated Appropriation Act of 2021 was signed into law on December 27, 2020 and is an impressive 5,593 pages. According to the Senate Historical Office, the Act is the longest bill ever passed by Congress. Buried...more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act (the “Act’”) was signed into law by the president on December 27, 2020, and includes significant health and welfare benefits provisions that affect group health plans and health insurance...more
In a recently decided case, Rutledge v. Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) does not preempt an Arkansas statute that...more
On October 29, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), the Department of Labor, and the Department of the Treasury (collectively, the “Departments”) released the Transparency in Coverage Final Rules (the...more
October brings with it the approach of year-end notices and open enrollment for 2021 health & welfare benefits. While open enrollment for your organization may be a month or so away, October 15 is the deadline for...more
Group health plan sponsors must provide annual Medicare Part D Notices by October 15, 2020. Now is a good time for you to check to make sure your Notices will be timely delivered and comply with the legal requirements. Read...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
On November 15, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, and the Department of the Treasury (collectively, the Departments), unveiled a proposed rule (scheduled to be published on November...more
We recognize that many of our clients sponsor ERISA welfare benefit plans and are currently undergoing their open enrollment process and issuing related participant communications. To assist our clients with that process, we...more
With all the recent and pending changes shaking up the Employee Benefits world, at least a few things are remaining constant. Here are a few upcoming annual reporting deadlines for group health plans...more
If prescription drug coverage is offered under your group health plan, you must provide an annual notice by October 15th to plan participants (and their dependents) who are Medicare eligible, whether they are active...more
Oregon’s hospitals see improved financial performance following the ACA; CMS denies Indiana’s request for an additional lockout period in the Medicaid expansion program; and a new Manatt Health report details Medicaid funding...more