PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Gag Clause Prohibitions
Changing Telehealth Rules
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Health Plan Transparency Requirements
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Group Health Plan Service Provider Compensation Disclosure Requirements
Podcast: What's New for Insurers in Mental Health Parity Compliance - Diagnosing Health Care
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Employee Retention Tax Credit Expansion
Department of Labor Imposes Additional Requirement on Employer-Provided Health Services
COVID-19 Relief in 2021: What Small Businesses Need to Know
On-Demand Webinar | Navigating Leave and Disability Protection Laws During COVID-19: A Practical Guide for California Employers
COVID-19 in the Workplace - PPP Update, COVID Plans from the Biden Transition Team, Higher Education Relief Package Provision, COVID WARN Act Developments
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - New Round of COVID-19 Relief Expands Assistance for Employers
The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) was enacted to ensure that group health plans and health insurance issuers offering mental health and substance use disorder (MH/SUD) benefits do not impose...more
The U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury have announced that they will pause enforcement of the 2024 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) Final Rule (the “2024 Final Rule”) for...more
The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) generally requires group health plans and health insurance issuers to ensure that financial requirements (such as copays and deductibles), quantitative treatment...more
The long-anticipated final rule under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) was published on September 9, 2024. The MHPAEA prohibits group health plans that provide mental health and substance use...more
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the invalidity of regulations governing the independent review process under the No Surprise Billing Rules....more
As we come to the end of the year, it is a good time for employers with January 1st health plan renewals to review their plan documents and get ready for open enrollment. The following is a checklist that lists some of the...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced a two-year administrative transition period that delays until 2026 the new rule that catch-up contributions made by certain higher‑income participants in 401(k), 403(b), and...more
The Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and NASA have issued a new interim rule, FAR 52.204–27, implementing Section 102 of Division R of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Pub. L. 117–328), the...more
Now that we’re arriving at the end of the COVID-19 emergency support, it’s time to regroup and review any remaining employer action items. We’ll outline compliance hot topics in this annual benefits legislative update....more
As part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, Congress passed two new pregnancy-related laws requiring covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees due to pregnancy, childbirth, and related...more
While most of us were busy preparing for the holidays and making New Year’s resolutions, Congress and President Biden were busy rolling out new retirement plan legislation. On Dec. 22 and Dec. 23, respectively, the Senate and...more
While the final days of 2022 may have been quiet for some, Congress pushed forward a significant win for pregnant and nursing workers, thanks to two pieces of legislation included in the federal Consolidated Appropriations...more
Introduction. When the U.S. Department of Labor issued its biennial 2022 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (“MHPAEA”) Report to Congress earlier this year, it outlined significant noncompliance by health plans....more
On January 25, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”), Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of the Treasury (collectively, “Departments” or “Regulators”) released their 2022 Annual Report to Congress on...more
The January 1, 2022, deadline is approaching for plan sponsors to post the required notice informing participants of certain changes affecting how medical benefits may be billed under their health plan. This notice is...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has published Notice 2021-26 to provide answers regarding the taxability of benefits received in 2021 and 2022 under a dependent care assistance program (DCAP) that permits carryovers or...more
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the “ARPA”) into law. In addition to providing nearly $2 trillion of monetary relief for individuals and business sectors impacted by the...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL” or “the Department”) is proposing to delay and revise portions of the Trump administration regulations related to tipped employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA” or “the Act”). ...more
As noted in our prior blog posts here and here, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (the “Act”) includes several types of relief for flexible spending accounts (“FSAs”), impacting both health and dependent care FSAs. ...more
As noted in our prior blog posts here and here, Section 214 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (“Act”) permits employers to amend their flexible spending account (FSA) plans to help participants avoid forfeiting...more
In Notice 2021-15, the IRS provides many answers to questions regarding the temporary special rules introduced as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) for health flexible spending accounts (health FSAs) and...more
On February 18, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued clarifying guidance on the temporary special rules for health flexible spending arrangements (FSAs) and dependent care assistance programs (DCAPs) under Internal...more
On January 21, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order on Protecting Worker Health and Safety directing the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health to issue science-based guidance for employers...more
When the Consolidated Appropriations Act ("CAA"), 2021, was signed into law by Donald Trump on December 27, 2020, it meaningfully opened the door for employers to assist employees with student loan debt. The CAA authorized...more
In our April 2020 post, we detailed how employee layoffs can cause a qualified retirement plan to undergo a “partial termination,” resulting in required 100% vesting of the affected employees’ benefits. As 2020 drew to a...more