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 SW Benefits Updates. This Part 1 covers year-end health and welfare plan issues. Parts 2,...more
11/15/2024
/ Abortion ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Annual Reports ,
Beneficiaries ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Cafeteria Plans ,
CARES Act ,
Chevron Deference ,
Civil Rights Act ,
COBRA ,
Compensation ,
Compliance ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Contraceptives ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Duty of Prudence ,
EBSA ,
Employee Retention ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
HIPAA Security Rule ,
HITECH Act ,
IRS ,
LGBTQ ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
MHPAEA ,
Notice Requirements ,
NQTLs ,
Over The Counter Drugs (OTC) ,
PCORI ,
Penalties ,
Plan Participants ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
SCOTUS ,
Student Loans ,
Substance Abuse ,
Surprise Medical Bills ,
Tax Credits ,
Telemedicine ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
Title VII ,
Transparency ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Wellness Programs
On April 26, 2024, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (“HHS”) published a final rule to amend the HIPAA Privacy Rules to support reproductive health care privacy (the...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
10/12/2023
/ Abortion ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Birth Control ,
Cafeteria Plans ,
CARES Act ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
COBRA ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
Drug Pricing ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
IRS ,
MHPAEA ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
NQTLs ,
Out of Network Provider ,
Penalties ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Popular ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
Student Loans ,
Surprise Medical Bills ,
Title VII ,
Transparency ,
Travel Time ,
Wellness Programs
Just when you thought the confusing COVID-19 ERISA deadline extensions were behind you, the Biden-Harris Administration asks you to reconsider. ...more
Effective December 27, 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (“CAA”), as part of its transparency in health care protections, prohibits group health plans and issuers from entering into agreements that directly or...more
6/12/2023
/ Attestation Requirements ,
Compliance ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Gag Clauses ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
U.S. Treasury
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
10/19/2022
/ Abortion ,
COBRA ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HRSA ,
IRS ,
MHPAEA ,
No Surprises Act (NSA) ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Popular ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
Roe v Wade ,
Self-Funded Health Plans
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
2/11/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Proposed Rules ,
Safe Harbors ,
Wellness Programs
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
9/28/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
COBRA ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Executive Compensation ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
HDHP ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
IRS ,
MHPAEA ,
Retirement Plan ,
Trump Administration ,
Year-End Tax Planning
As 2019 comes to an end, we are pleased to present our traditional 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...more
10/18/2019
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Civil Rights Act ,
COBRA ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
HDHP ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Individual Mandate ,
IRS ,
Minimum Essential Coverage ,
OFCCP ,
Retirement Plan ,
Shared Responsibility Rule ,
Title VII ,
TPAs ,
Wage and Hour
The CMS Division of National Standards, on behalf of HHS, is launching the Compliance Review Program (the “Program”) to ensure compliance among covered entities with HIPAA Administrative Simplification rules for electronic...more
As a follow-up to our recent blog Count Down to Open Enrollment – Some Quick Thoughts, below is a little more detail on how seemingly simple wellness program design changes can have significant legal consequences....more
As 2017 comes to an end, we are pleased to present our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we are presenting our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. This Part 1 will cover...more
10/18/2017
/ 21st Century Cures Act ,
AARP ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Breach Notification Rule ,
Cadillac Tax ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) ,
COBRA ,
Code Sections 4980H ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Disability Benefits ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Employee Assistance Programs ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Poverty Line ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Form 5500 ,
Form 720 ,
Full-Time Employees ,
Health Insurance Exchanges ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Information Letters ,
IRS ,
MHPAEA ,
Minimum Essential Coverage ,
Non-Grandfathered Health Plans ,
Open Enrollment ,
PCORI ,
Preventive Health Care ,
Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Plan (QSEHRAs) ,
Religious Exemption ,
SBC ,
Section 1557 ,
Section 6055 ,
Section 6056 ,
Shared Responsibility Rule ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Penalties ,
Telemedicine ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration ,
Wellness Programs
To state the obvious, there has been some uncertainty regarding how the Trump Administration will affect federal agency enforcement efforts. However, at least, in regard to HIPAA Privacy and Security, the U.S. Department of...more
5/10/2017
/ Business Associates ,
Covered Entities ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Breach ,
OCR ,
Penalties ,
Popular
Although it is not a new requirement, it is important and therefore worth a reminder: HIPAA requires covered entities to establish and implement written policies and procedures that are consistent with its Privacy and...more
As 2016 comes to an end, we are pleased to present you with our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. Like last year, we are presenting our “To Do” Lists in three separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 of...more
11/10/2016
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Business Associates ,
Cadillac Tax ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Form 1094 ,
Form 1095 ,
GINA ,
Grandfathered Status ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Healthcare Reform ,
HIPAA Audits ,
Large Employer ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
Minimum Essential Coverage ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
OFCCP ,
PCORI ,
Section 1557 ,
Section 6055 ,
Section 6056 ,
Self-Insured Health Plans ,
Shared Responsibility Rule ,
Summary of Benefits and Coverage ,
Telemedicine ,
Title VII ,
Wellness Programs ,
Year-End Compliance Checklist
On May 16, 2016, the EEOC issued final rules that explain how the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) applies to employer sponsored wellness programs. Although some may welcome the guidance, others may be frustrated...more