Imagine you are a corporate Human Resources/Total Rewards leader who receives a request from a state’s law enforcement agency for health plan records about a plan participant’s abortions or other reproductive health care. How...more
6/4/2024
/ Abortion ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Final Rules ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
PHI ,
Popular ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues
It is critical for employers and plan fiduciaries/administrators to stay informed of HIPAA privacy and security-related legal developments because most employer sponsored group health plans — regardless of the employer’s...more
5/23/2024
/ Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Final Rules ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
OCR ,
PHI ,
Popular ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues
Where did the time go? Just a brief 1,199 days after it began, the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) is coming to an end. The PHE formally ends on May 11, 2023, short of any unexpected developments. And that means the...more
4/19/2023
/ COBRA ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Telehealth
If you still have unvaccinated workers in January, might you provide a financial incentive for employees to be vaccinated, by charging them higher healthcare insurance premiums? ...more
8/31/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Incentive Plans ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Premium Assistance ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
This blog was based on guidance which is now outdated. An employer may offer an incentive to employees to voluntarily provide documentation or other confirmation that they received a vaccination on their own from a pharmacy,...more
4/21/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Incentive Plans ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
GINA ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Vaccinations ,
Wellness Programs ,
Workplace Safety
Once an employee has been exposed to a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19, what do you do? Once an employee has tested positive, what do you say?...more
In the face of a potential public health crisis such as the Coronavirus, prudent employers commit extraordinary resources to ensuring critical business continuity and IT infrastructure planning. The human resources...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
Employers who sponsor employee wellness programs must plan now to comply with a new notice requirement that takes effect soon. Beginning with the first plan year on or after January 1, 2017, employers sponsoring wellness...more
Many employers offer some type of “wellness program” to their employees as a way to improve employee health and reduce healthcare spending. Wellness programs can be called many different things, including “weight loss...more
Many employers offer some type of "wellness program" to their employees as a way to improve employee health and reduce healthcare spending. Wellness programs can be called many different things, including "weight loss...more
As we approach the end of the year, employers and plan sponsors of qualified retirement plans and health and welfare plans should take time to meet various upcoming deadlines. Failure to comply with the deadlines may result...more
11/25/2013
/ 401k ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Cafeteria Plans ,
COBRA ,
Deadlines ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
DOMA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
GINA ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Hurricane Sandy ,
IRS ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
MHPAEA ,
Qualified Health Plans ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
W-2 ,
Year-End Planning
Traditional employment laws often interact with traditional employee benefit laws. One such example is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)'s impact on employer-sponsored group health plans. As group health plan costs...more
4/3/2013
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Disability ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
GINA ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Hiring & Firing