The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury, with the Office of Personnel Management (the “Departments”) jointly released FAQs About Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 Implementation Part 69...more
1/27/2025
/ Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Contract Terms ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Gag Clauses ,
Health Insurance ,
Office of Personnel Management (OPM) ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
U.S. Treasury
For the past few years, we have encouraged plan sponsors to focus on matters of fiduciary governance for their health and welfare benefit plans (see our 2021 blog post). Yet many plan sponsors overlook the fact that the...more
Certain provisions of the Transparency in Coverage Final Regulations and the Consolidated Appropriation Act, 2021 (“CAA”) require group health plans and/or their vendors to report information to federal agencies. On December...more
6/5/2023
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Final Rules ,
Gag Clauses ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
New Guidance ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Transparency ,
U.S. Treasury
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas recently vacated a portion of the Requirements Related to Surprise Billing, Part II, Interim Final Rule (the “Rule”) regarding the independent dispute resolution (IDR)...more
3/1/2022
/ Appeals ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Out of Network Provider ,
Surprise Medical Bills ,
Texas ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Vacated
The old adage “you can’t get where you’re going unless you know where you are” has never seemed more true than when applied to the current mélange of healthcare transparency guidance. Fortunately, a fading relic from...more
11/10/2021
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Drug Pricing ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Final Rules ,
Office of Personnel Management (OPM) ,
Price Comparisons ,
Public Disclosure ,
Transparency ,
U.S. Treasury
The IRS recently issued Notice 2021-31, which provides much sought-after detail regarding the contours and operation of the temporary premium subsidy for COBRA continuation coverage available through the American Rescue Plan...more
5/25/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Applications ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employees ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Eligibility ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
IRS ,
Premium Subsidies ,
Tax Credits
This Client Advisory highlights important developments in the law governing employee benefit plans over the past year. It offers insight into what these developments mean for employers and plan sponsors and previews...more
12/18/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Executive Compensation ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Filing Deadlines ,
IRS ,
New Rules ,
Paid Leave ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed into law on March 27, 2020, includes a number of provisions that affect retirement plan sponsors and participants. These provisions are designed to...more
4/2/2020
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Relief Measures ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Student Loans
Recognizing the need to eliminate potential administrative and financial barriers to testing for and treatment of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), in Notice 2020-15, posted today on IRS.gov, the IRS advised that...more
3/12/2020
/ Clinical Laboratory Testing ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deductibles ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
HDHP ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Infectious Diseases ,
IRS ,
Medical Benefits
On Thursday, January 30, members from Verrill's Employment & Labor group, as well as some from the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation group, conducted a full-day seminar full of employment law related topics that...more
This Client Advisory highlights important developments in the law governing employee benefit plans and executive compensation over the past year. It offers insight into what these developments mean for employers and plan...more
12/18/2019
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HRA ,
IRS ,
New Rules ,
Pensions ,
Proposed Regulation
Wellness programs are governed by overlapping and, at times, maddeningly inconsistent regulations and agency guidance. Litigation challenging the wellness program rules issued by the EEOC in 2016 has added another layer of...more