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 ,
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Tax Liability ,
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Tax Reform ,
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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
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COBRA ,
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Excise Tax ,
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Form 720 ,
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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
Among the many Executive Orders issued by President Donald Trump’s administration, Executive Order 14221 (the “Order”) reinforces and expands healthcare price transparency enforcement. This Order builds on Executive Order...more
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) ,
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Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
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Tobacco ,
Wellness Programs
Although the end of the year seems far away, employers should start preparing for the anti-gag clause attestations for their group health plans that are due December 31. Namely, employers need to determine who is completing...more
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