In previous posts (available here and here) we reported on some of the legal consequences from Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization on employer-sponsored group health plan coverage of abortion-related travel benefits....more
8/9/2022
/ Abortion ,
Commercial Insurance Policies ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
Due Process ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
HRA ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
Risk Mitigation ,
SCOTUS
In a previous post, we reported on the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization which reversed Roe v. Wade, and renders a woman’s right to make decisions regarding, and seek medical treatment...more
7/14/2022
/ Abortion ,
Affordable Care Act ,
COBRA ,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HRA ,
ICHRA ,
MHPAEA ,
Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Plan (QSEHRAs) ,
Roe v Wade ,
SCOTUS ,
Travel ,
Travel Reimbursements
On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The decision explicitly reverses Roe v. Wade, thereby radically altering the legal and political...more
6/27/2022
/ Abortion ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
MHPAEA ,
Preemption ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
Roe v Wade ,
SCOTUS ,
Women's Rights
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “Act”) adopted a series of transparency requirements that apply to employer-sponsored group health plans. These transparency rules impose a series of new and complex obligations...more
3/8/2022
/ 401k ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Mental Health ,
MHPAEA ,
Public Health Service Act ,
Surprise Medical Bills ,
Third-Party ,
Transparency
The Supreme Court recently handed down its much-anticipated decision in Hughes v. Northwestern University. The question before the Court is whether the petitioners – current and former participants in two retirement plans...more
In two previous posts, we reported on the rules enacted in Section 202, Division BB of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “Act”) requiring the disclosure of direct and indirect compensation paid to brokers and...more
In Field Assistance Bulletin 2021-03, the Department of Labor (the “Department”) announced a temporary enforcement policy relating to the rules enacted in Division BB of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “Act”)...more
In July 2019, the Auditing Standards Board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) issued a revised Statement on Auditing Standards No. 136 entitled, “Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial...more
Division BB of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (“Act”) broadly addresses surprise medical billing and health plan transparency. This post focuses on Section 202 of Division BB (the “Provision”), which establishes...more
12/7/2021
/ Brokers ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Consultants ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Insurance Industry ,
Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Plan (QSEHRAs) ,
Transparency
A recently proposed Department of Labor regulation entitled “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights” (the “Proposal”) addresses the duties of retirement plan fiduciaries when...more
According to Bloomberg Law, class actions challenging 401(k) plan fees are increasing at a record pace. The underlying claims in these class action suits fall into predictable categories that are all too familiar: excessive...more
6/8/2021
/ 401k ,
Article III ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Standing ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction
On February 26, 2021, the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) issued Notice 2021-01 (the “Notice”). The Notice was issued jointly with the Department of the Treasury, the Internal Revenue...more
As COVID-19 vaccines become more available, employment-based programs requiring or incentivizing employee vaccination will become more commonplace. In a previous post, we covered recent employer guidance from the CDC, with a...more
2/24/2021
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
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
1/5/2021
/ Drug Pricing ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Preemption ,
Prescription Drug Coverage ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Rutledge v Pharmaceutical Care Management Association ,
SCOTUS
On April 29th, in connection with the National Emergency declaration related to COVID-19, the Department of Labor, the Department of the Treasury, and the Internal Revenue Service (the “Agencies”) jointly issued a final...more
As we previously reported, on December 20, President Trump signed into law the “Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019,” known and referred to colloquially as the “SECURE Act.”...more
Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave, M.G.L c. 175M (“MAPFML”) establishes a system of paid leave of up to 12 weeks for birth, adoption or foster care, 12 weeks to care for a family member, 20 weeks for an employee’s...more
9/18/2019
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Contributions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exemptions ,
Form 5500 ,
Medical Leave ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
Preemption ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
On June 13, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of the Treasury (Treasury Department) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) (collectively, the “Departments”)...more
7/11/2019
/ Affordable Care Act ,
COBRA ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Final Rules ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
HRA ,
IRS ,
Medicare ,
Public Health Service Act ,
Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Plan (QSEHRAs) ,
TRICARE ,
U.S. Treasury
Formally organized retirement plan committees have become the norm in recent years. Retirement plans, particularly 401(k) plans, have increasingly adopted consultant-advised governance structures that include fiduciary...more
In the last post in this series, we examined the regulatory response by certain states to the final regulations governing association health plans, which were issued by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in June 2018. As we...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
10/3/2018
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Association Health Plans ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Independent Contractors ,
MEWAs ,
Preemption ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Savings Clause ,
Supremacy Clause ,
Trump Administration
Adherence to the COBRA health care continuation rules is not always high on an employer’s list of priorities. Compliance is often “outsourced,” and even when handled “in-house,” it rarely consumes much attention. A recent...more
This is the first post in a blog series exploring the U.S. Department of Labor’s recently issued final regulation governing Association Health Plans (AHPs). While AHPs can be either fully-insured or self-funded, the final...more
7/24/2018
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Association Health Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Executive Orders ,
Final Rules ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Reform ,
MEWAs ,
Trump Administration
What’s a financial advisor to do? On March 15, 2018, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Chamber of Commerce of the U.S. v. U.S. Dep’t. of Labor, No. 17-10238, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 6472 (5th Cir. Mar. 15, 2018) vacated –...more
4/12/2018
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Retail Investors ,
Retirement Plan ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Vacated
In advance of issuing the Executive Order that culminated in the promulgation by the Department of Labor of proposed regulations expanding the availability of Association Health Plans, President Trump announced that one of...more