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
On December 18, 2024, a bipartisan group of four Senators on the Senate Finance Committee released draft legislation that would expand the total number of Medicare Graduate Medical Education (GME) full-time equivalent (FTE)...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
As the new year begins, change is afoot inside the Beltway as the 119th Congress gets underway and Washington prepares for President Trump’s second administration. While change is bringing uncertainty on some fronts, health...more
With only two weeks remaining in the year, Congress is considering a government funding deal (the “Further Continuing Appropriations and Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2025” or the “Bill”) that includes a...more
During the COVID-19 pandemic, both federal and state governments enacted a host of laws and implemented flexibilities to ensure health care providers, hospitals, and health systems could move traditional brick-and-mortar care...more
The No Surprises Act, a law that ended the practice of “balance billing” by certain out-of-network providers, was enacted as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 on December 27, 2020. While the law passed...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
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
Where has the time gone? We have hit the one-year mark since the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). Yes, you read that correctly. One year! One of the long-term consequences of the PHE was the shift in when...more
As mentioned in our recent blog post, the recently filed class action lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson (Lewandowski v. Johnson & Johnson et. al., D.N.J., No. 1:24-cv-00671 (Feb. 5, 2024)) over alleged excessive prescription...more
When President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act into law on March 9, he dramatically altered U.S. relationships with the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), the Republic of Palau, and the Federated States...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 2023 comes to a close, I can’t help but reflect on all the regulations and policies we reviewed this year (and those that we’ll continue to handle next week before the year actually ends). There were some tasty eggs with...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
As we near the end of another year, it is time to look ahead to developments in the information security and privacy landscape. One area of particular importance is the development of regulations implementing the Cyber...more
Summary - The rules in the Consolidated Appropriations Act that aim to eliminate much of the surprise from billings by out-of-network providers in particular situations are the subject of continued controversy....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) requires group health plans and insurers to cover treatments for mental health and substance use disorders in a manner that is equitable to the...more
By December 31, 2023, health plans and insurers must submit an attestation of compliance with the “anti-gag rules” of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA). The rules apply to all agreements entered into on or...more
On Dec. 29, 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act (the “CAA”) was signed into law. The CAA provides for a new exception to the Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute (the “AKS”). Section 4126 of the CAA introduces a new...more
The recently passed Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) of 2023 includes a new Stark Law exception and Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) safe harbor, allowing hospitals and other health care entities to offer their physicians...more