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 Fifth Circuit and the Federal District Court of Connecticut have issued conflicting decisions on whether service providers may sue to enforce arbitration awards under the No Surprises Rules in the Consolidated...more
The May Monthly Minute brings you up-to-date on mental health parity enforcement relief, as well as smoker surcharge and prohibited transaction litigation. Nonenforcement of 2024 Mental Health Parity Regulations - Earlier...more
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
A recent court filing offers a reprieve to health plan sponsors in their efforts to comply with final regulations issued last year under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA)....more
In an April 15 Executive Order, entitled “Lowering Drug Prices by Once Again Putting Americans First,” the Trump Administration has called attention to an ERISA disclosure required by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of...more
On January 14, 2024, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Office of Personnel Management (the “Departments”) jointly released the FAQs About Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 Implementation Part 69...more
The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury, with the Office of Personnel Management (the “Departments”) jointly released FAQs About Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 Implementation Part 69...more
In the wake of an end of year filled with intense negotiations and political wrangling, Congress has successfully enacted the American Relief Act, 2025 ("the Budget Bill" or "legislation"), narrowly averting a government...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
Updated November 18, 2024 – The Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA), 2023 (Public Law 117-328), signed into law on December 29, 2022, extended certain key telehealth flexibilities instituted during the COVID-19 public...more
Our Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group discusses what health plan sponsors need to know about the final rule on nonquantitative treatment limitations (NQTLs) and NQTL comparative analysis under the Mental Health...more
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld regulations defining the qualifying payment amount (QPA). The QPA is a key factor in determining how much individuals and health plans must pay out-of-network providers in...more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA), 2023 (Public Law 117-328), signed into law on December 29, 2022, extended certain key virtual care flexibilities instituted during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) through...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
If you are a state or local government that sponsors a “self-funded” employee group health plan instead of using an insurance provider, you had previously been allowed to “opt out” of compliance with the following four...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
The U.S. Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services, and the Treasury (collectively, the “Tri-Departments”) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on August 3, 2023, to propose new regulations for the...more
On July 1, 2024, the US Department of Labor (DOL) submitted final regulations to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), implementing the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) as most recently amended by the...more
Under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (“CAA”), employer-sponsored group health plans, including medical-only plans, must submit information about their prescription drugs and health care spending. This submission...more
As a reminder, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 includes a provision that requires group health plans and health insurance issuers (collectively “plans and issuers”) to report certain specified data related to...more
The first complaint was filed in what is expected to be a wave of litigation alleging breach of fiduciary duty in selecting and monitoring welfare plan vendors. While the facts of this particular case may make it somewhat...more
Many employers offer health insurance as a way to recruit and retain talent. Sponsoring a group health plan, however, can subject the employer plan sponsor to significant legal and regulatory burdens deriving from laws such...more
As part of the No Surprises progeny of legislation seeking transparency in health care, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 prohibits the use of "gag clauses" in group health plan agreements. All group health plans...more
When the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) ended in April 2023, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act’s Medicaid continuous enrollment condition also came to an end. The condition had allowed states to claim a...more
We’ve written recently about the process that states are undertaking to begin to wind down the Medicaid enrollment expansion that was necessitated by the enactment of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act in March of...more