On July 4, President Donald Trump signed into law the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB), a sweeping piece of legislation that includes several provisions impacting employer-sponsored health and welfare benefit plans. The OBBB...more
7/10/2025
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Health Insurance ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
New Legislation ,
Retirement ,
Student Loans ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Reform ,
Telehealth ,
Trump Administration
As a reminder, the deadline for submitting Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) fees is July 31. Employers who sponsor self-insured group health plans should report and pay PCORI fees using the most recently...more
7/9/2025
/ Affordable Care Act ,
COBRA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Excise Tax ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Form 720 ,
Health Insurance ,
IRS ,
PCORI ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Self-Funded Health Plans ,
Tax Returns
On June 27, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, Inc., rejecting a constitutional challenge to the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) preventive services mandate. The Supreme Court...more
7/8/2025
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Insurance Industry ,
Kennedy v Braidwood Management Inc ,
Preventive Health Care ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
SCOTUS
Under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), as amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA), 2021, group health plans and health insurance issuers must conduct comparative analyses to show that...more
5/27/2025
/ Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Final Rules ,
Health Insurance ,
Mental Health ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
MHPAEA ,
NQTLs ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Substance Abuse ,
U.S. Treasury
At the end of last year, we told you about new legislation that provides employers with a little Affordable Care Act (ACA) reporting relief. Specifically, under the Paperwork Burden Reduction Act, applicable large employers...more
A “tobacco surcharge” is part of many employers’ wellness programs, where the employer charges tobacco users higher health insurance premiums than non-tobacco users. A typical tobacco surcharge program will ask an employee if...more
1/15/2025
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Class Action ,
Compliance ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Settlement ,
Surcharges ,
Tobacco ,
Wellness Programs
The IRS has announced increased annual limits for retirement and other benefit plans for 2024. While the increases for 2024 are smaller than we’ve seen in prior years, they still may have a significant impact on plans and...more
11/10/2023
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
ESOP ,
FSA ,
HSA ,
IRS ,
Qualified Benefit Plans ,
Qualified Health Plans ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan
NOTE: As we were preparing to publish this eAlert, the DOL issued proposed mental health parity regulations. We will provide an update on the proposed regulations in a future eAlert. Nonetheless, group health plans must still...more
After a long three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Biden administration has announced its intent to end the presidential COVID-19 national emergency on May 11, 2023. Employers should prepare their benefit plans for a...more
The IRS responded to rising inflation with its recent announcement regarding the limitations applicable to retirement and other benefit plans for 2023. Many limits will have significant increases compared to previous years,...more