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
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
Once again, the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury have issued guidance on the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) required coverage of contraception without cost sharing, clarifying the permitted...more
3/7/2024
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Compliance ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Contraceptives ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Insurance ,
HRSA ,
New Guidance ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
U.S. Treasury
What does the April 10, 2023, early end of the COVID-19 National Emergency declaration mean for employer health plans?
Well, nothing, actually....more
On February 4, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), U.S. Department of the Treasury, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued subregulatory guidance that provides greater flexibility and clarifies a...more
2/9/2022
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Flexible Savings Accounts (FSAs) ,
Guidance Update ,
Health Insurance ,
HSA ,
Over The Counter Drugs (OTC) ,
Reimbursements ,
Virus Testing
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 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
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
In back-to-back decisions, two federal district court judges have blocked implementation of a Trump administration rule that would exempt more employers from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirement...more
1/16/2019
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Contraceptives ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Executive Orders ,
Exemptions ,
Final Rules ,
Injunctions ,
Legislative History ,
Religious Institutions ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
Under a proposed rule that the Department of Labor (DOL), Department of the Treasury, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) jointly issued on October 29, 2018, employers may soon have more flexibility to fund...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