DE Under 3: New WIR Reporter; Nomination for New EEOC General Counsel; ODEP “Disability & the Digital Divide” Report
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Missing Plan Participants
On January 17, 2025, the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury (“the Departments”) issued their 2024 Report to Congress on the enforcement and implementation of the Mental Health Parity and...more
A recent audit conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) has uncovered significant challenges encountered by the Employee Benefits Security Administration (“EBSA”) in ensuring compliance...more
The Biden administration unveiled its FFY 2025 budget, which calls for $7.3 trillion in spending. In the proposed budget, Biden maintains his pledge to focus on expanding and transforming the nation’s mental health system. He...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently entered into a settlement agreement with a New York-based insurer and third-party administrator (“Company”) of employer group health plans governed by the Employee Retirement...more
Most employers know that if a group health plan provides mental health or substance use disorder (MH/SUD) benefits in any of six specified classifications, the plan must provide MH/SUD benefits in all specified...more
On July 25, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the U.S. Department of the Treasury released their annual report to the U.S. Congress regarding group health...more
Plan sponsors, insurers, and third-party administrators should pay close attention to the new guidance to facilitate health plan compliance with complex nonquantitative treatment limitation comparative analyses requirements....more
Today marks the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency that first began on March 13, 2020. The end of the public health emergency has a wide range of implications for employer sponsored benefit plans. This alert...more
The February Monthly Minute examines the DOL’s recent focus on mental health parity compliance, the Hughes vs. Northwestern University retirement plan fee litigation, and the latest COVID-19 testing coverage guidance....more
The US Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury issued their 2022 Report to Congress regarding their enforcement activities under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act as required under the...more
The Internal Revenue Service recently issued guidance to clarify the interaction between COVID-19 disaster relief and premiums due for continuation coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985...more
As discussed in our prior blog post, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) requires employers that sponsor group health plans to provide a 100% COBRA subsidy for “Assistance Eligible Individuals” during the “Subsidy...more
On April 7, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued welcome guidance - including eagerly-anticipated model notices - to help employers and their COBRA administrators implement the temporary six-month (April 1 to...more
Less than a month after the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) was signed into law, new U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) guidance and model forms are clearing up a number of employer concerns about the 100 percent COBRA...more
Today the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the section of the Department of Labor that handles all things employee benefit plans, posted a dedicated webpage with much anticipated (and much needed) employer...more
On February 26, 2021, the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) issued Notice 2021-01 (the “Notice”). The Notice was issued jointly with the Department of the Treasury, the Internal Revenue...more
Last year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) issued two notices that extended certain benefit plan deadlines for both employees/plan participants and for plan administrators as a result of...more
DOL Issues Guidance on Continuing COVID-19 Relief for Employee Benefit Plans, Plan Participants, and Beneficiaries Recognizing that many employee benefit plan participants and beneficiaries continue to struggle with ongoing...more
Last year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) jointly offered extensions and other relief to employee benefit plan administrators who might be struggling to meet various filing, notice,...more
As we described in our LawFlash from last spring, the US Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) (collectively, the Agencies) issued EBSA Notice 2020-01...more
On October 23, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of the Treasury (collectively, the “Departments”) jointly issued answers to frequently asked questions regarding the...more
In a set of rules published last week, the government finalized a July 2010 interim final rule (“IFR”) related to coverage of certain preventive services and an August 2014 IFR regarding the definition of an eligible...more
On February 24, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) jointly released...more