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
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
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
Since it was enacted in 2010, Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (“Section 1557”) has prohibited discrimination in covered health programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or...more
On June 15, 2020, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark opinion in Bostock v. Clayton County Georgia. At issue in Bostock was whether an employer could fire an employee for being gay or transgender without...more
6/24/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fringe Benefits ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 1557 ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
In 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office of Civil Rights issued final regulations implementing the nondiscrimination provisions of the Affordable Care Act (“Section 1557”), which prohibit the...more
6/11/2019
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Mental Health ,
OCR ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Section 1557 ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration
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
In a series of tweets published on July 26, 2017, President Trump announced a ban on transgender service in the armed forces. In the wake of this reversal of government policy, employers may question the current state of...more
8/12/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Popular ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Section 1557 ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration ,
Twitter
In recent months, we have written a fair amount about providing transgender benefits in light of the nondiscrimination provisions of the Affordable Care Act. Our blogs of March 30, 2016 and June 22, 2016 highlight the key...more
On April 6, 2016, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury (the “Departments”) issued an updated Summary of Benefits and Coverage (“SBC”) template. The latest template represents an effort by the...more
On May 18, 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued final regulations implementing the nondiscrimination provisions of the Affordable Care Act. As we discussed in our March 30, 2016 blog, the rule...more