Federal regulators recently indicated they will not enforce parts of the final regulations issued in September 2024 under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) and may soon propose new rules altogether....more
After Congress declined to extend certain relief allowing first-dollar coverage of telehealth services by high-deductible health plans (HDHPs), health plan sponsors may need to make immediate changes to preserve employees’...more
1/16/2025
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CARES Act ,
Compliance ,
Deductibles ,
Employee Benefits ,
HDHP ,
HDHPs ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
HSA ,
Tax Planning ,
Telehealth
The wait is over, and now the work begins for health plan sponsors.
Much-anticipated final rules implementing the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) were...more
9/19/2024
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
HMOs ,
Mental Health ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
MHPAEA ,
NQTLs ,
Out of Network Provider ,
Outpatient Services ,
Substance Abuse
What does the April 10, 2023, early end of the COVID-19 National Emergency declaration mean for employer health plans?
Well, nothing, actually....more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (CAA 2023) holds some welcome news for employers that offer a high deductible health plan (HDHP) option paired with a health savings account (HSA). Thanks to the CAA 2023, these...more
On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its highly anticipated decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, No. 19-1392. The Dobbs decision expressly overrules the two key precedents that...more
6/24/2022
/ Abortion ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
COBRA ,
Criminal Code ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Medical Reimbursement ,
Mental Health ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Preemption ,
Roe v Wade ,
SCOTUS ,
Telehealth
On February 23, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas struck down the part of the interagency interim final rule implementing the “independent dispute resolution” (IDR) procedures created by the No...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued some much-needed guidance surrounding the application of deadline extensions that the IRS and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) previously issued for initial elections under...more
The U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and U.S. Department of the Treasury recently issued regulatory guidance on the requirement that health plans cover pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)...more
Plan participants can be hit with surprise medical bills when they receive care from out-of-network providers. Sometimes, this happens when participants do not know that the care they are receiving is from an out-of-network...more
7/22/2021
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
New Guidance ,
Out of Network Provider ,
Self-Insured Health Plans ,
Surprise Medical Bills ,
U.S. Treasury
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), which became law on March 11, 2021, provides a 100 percent subsidy of premiums under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) beginning on April 1, 2021, through...more
3/18/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Health Insurance ,
Medicare ,
Notice Requirements ,
Popular ,
Premium Subsidies ,
Relief Measures ,
Tax Credits
The Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA), 2021, enacted late in 2020, imposes a new requirement on group health plans to ensure compliance with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). Unlike many of the...more
1/28/2021
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Mental Health ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Third-Party Service Provider
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently issued its revamped proposed rules governing employer-sponsored wellness programs. These proposed rules have been a long time coming, with the EEOC’s prior...more
Employers now have greater clarity on how the new federal requirements covering COVID-19 testing and diagnosis apply to their group health plans, under guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of...more
The Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of the Treasury, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are making good on their promise to issue more guidance and to aggressively enforce the federal Mental...more
5/14/2018
/ 21st Century Cures Initiative ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Comment Period ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Health Insurance ,
Mental Health ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
MHPAEA ,
New Guidance