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
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
9/28/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
COBRA ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Executive Compensation ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
HDHP ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
IRS ,
MHPAEA ,
Retirement Plan ,
Trump Administration ,
Year-End Tax Planning
As 2019 comes to an end, we are pleased to present our traditional 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...more
10/18/2019
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Civil Rights Act ,
COBRA ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
HDHP ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Individual Mandate ,
IRS ,
Minimum Essential Coverage ,
OFCCP ,
Retirement Plan ,
Shared Responsibility Rule ,
Title VII ,
TPAs ,
Wage and Hour
On June 21, 2018, the Department of Labor published the final association health plan (“AHP”) rule. 83 FR 28912 (June 21, 2018). The final rule is short, just shy of three pages in length (see page 28961 to 29964), and...more
7/2/2018
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Association Health Plans ,
COBRA ,
Commonality ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Final Rules ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
MEWAs ,
Regulatory Agenda
Administering health plans is not the easiest task. Such plans are subject to an alphabet soup of laws, including but not limited to ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, COBRA, HIPAA, GINA, Mental Health Parity, the ADA, the...more
4/24/2018
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
COBRA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wellness Programs
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
As 2016 comes to an end, we are pleased to present you with our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. Like last year, we are presenting our “To Do” Lists in three separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 of...more
11/10/2016
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Business Associates ,
Cadillac Tax ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Form 1094 ,
Form 1095 ,
GINA ,
Grandfathered Status ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Healthcare Reform ,
HIPAA Audits ,
Large Employer ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
Minimum Essential Coverage ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
OFCCP ,
PCORI ,
Section 1557 ,
Section 6055 ,
Section 6056 ,
Self-Insured Health Plans ,
Shared Responsibility Rule ,
Summary of Benefits and Coverage ,
Telemedicine ,
Title VII ,
Wellness Programs ,
Year-End Compliance Checklist
We’ve had numerous inquiries lately about telemedicine benefits. My clients most typically ask either “is this a group health plan?” or “is it just access to another provider?” Clearly, there is much confusion surrounding...more
8/29/2016
/ Affordable Care Act ,
COBRA ,
EAP ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Excise Tax ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
IRS ,
Popular ,
Safe Harbors ,
Telemedicine
As 2015 comes to an end, we are pleased to present you with our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. Like last year, we are presenting our “To Do” Lists in three separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 of...more
11/23/2015
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Cadillac Tax ,
Cafeteria Plans ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Large Employer ,
PCORI ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
Section 6055 ,
Section 6056 ,
Self-Insured Health Plans ,
Shared Responsibility Rule ,
Summary of Benefits and Coverage ,
W-2 ,
Wellness Programs ,
Year-End Planning
Recent studies indicate that wellness programs significantly improve the health of workers. If only it were so easy to implement a wellness program . . .
As explained in our July 17, 2013 Benefits Update – Final...more
In our 2012 End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists, we indicated that there was a strong possibility that the Supreme Court would grant certiorari this term in a series of cases challenging Section 3 of the Defense of...more
2/20/2013
/ COBRA ,
DOMA ,
Domestic Partner Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Proposition 8 ,
QDRO ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS