News & Analysis as of

Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Health and Welfare Plans Health Insurance

Husch Blackwell LLP

Employers Continue to Face ERISA Tobacco Surcharge Lawsuits, With Mixed Results

Husch Blackwell LLP on

Recently, companies have seen a spate of class action lawsuits challenging the legality of tobacco cessation wellness programs and related tobacco surcharges imposed by their employer-sponsored health benefit plans....more

Fisher Phillips

Federal Appeals Court Decision Reminds Employers About Their Duty to Monitor Service Providers of ERISA-Covered Health and Welfare...

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A federal appeals court just illustrated the importance of an employer’s duty to monitor service providers that assist with the administration of employee welfare benefit plans. In the May 21 decision of Tiara Yachts v. Blue...more

Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP

Benefits Catch-Up - Q1 2025

With so much happening in the employee benefits world over the last few months, we bring you Benefits Catch-Up, our catch-up contribution to help you keep up with recent developments. Eversheds Sutherland’s US Employee...more

Saul Ewing LLP

Organizing Your Company’s Health and Welfare Plans Part 1: Creating a Framework

Saul Ewing LLP on

Following the flurry of regulatory guidance and informal comments from officials at the Employee Benefits Security Administration, and other agencies of the Federal government, health and welfare plans should be a primary...more

UB Greensfelder LLP

What Employers Should Know About Tobacco Surcharge Litigation

UB Greensfelder LLP on

Tobacco surcharges have become the focus of class action litigation in recent months. Although corporate wellness programs are commonplace, employers that impose a tobacco surcharge (or other premium discount) in connection...more

Verrill

Final Mental Health Parity Rule Spells Compliance Changes

Verrill on

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

Ballard Spahr LLP

Practical Pointers for Compliance With New MHPAEA Regulations

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The Departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services have published final regulations under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act that prohibit group health plans and health insurers from imposing...more

Fisher Phillips

Open Enrollment Season in the Workplace: 5 Legal Considerations + Employer Takeaways

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Open enrollment season can put a spotlight on the many complex rules applicable to employer-sponsored health and welfare plans. As you announce your benefit offerings for the upcoming plan year and tirelessly work to inform...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Group Medical Captives, Level Funding and US Healthcare Policy

In a recent article in Managed Healthcare Executive, Peter Wehrwein examines the trend of self-funding of group health benefits by smaller employers who used to depend mainly or entirely on fully insured programs....more

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC

Caution! Contents Hot: Key Benefits Issues to Watch During the Remainder of 2024

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC on

While the sweltering roil of temporary regulatory changes related to the COVID-19 pandemic may have cooled and the initial burst of SECURE 2.0 steam begins to dissipate, sponsors of employee benefit plans should keep their...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Happy National Employee Benefits Day 2024!

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

To all those who work in the employee benefits arena, whether in legal, finance, benefits administration, payroll, tax, human resources, or many other disciplines, this is our annual reminder to celebrate the valuable and...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Drugmaker Sued for…Overpaying for Drugs? Lawsuit Ushers in Expected Wave of Welfare Fiduciary Litigation

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

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

Morgan Lewis - ML Benefits

Managing Welfare Plan Risk: The Fiduciary Committee

Fiduciary committees have long been established in connection with retirement plans to manage the investment, legal compliance, and operational risks that can arise under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974,...more

Quarles & Brady LLP

Oklahoma Patient's Right to Pharmacy Choice Act Preempted by ERISA

Quarles & Brady LLP on

On August 15, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued an opinion in Pharmaceutical Care Management Association v. Glen Mulready, in his official capacity as Insurance Commissioner of Oklahoma, Oklahoma...more

Morrison & Foerster LLP - Left Coast Appeals

This Week at The Ninth: PowerPoints and Payday Loans

This week, the Court revives an ERISA claim and compels arbitration of a dispute over tribal internet payday loans. WARMENHOVEN v. NETAPP, INC. The Court holds that PowerPoint presentations did not constitute plan...more

Zuckerman Spaeder LLP

Making Mental Health Parity a Reality - The Challenge Continues

Zuckerman Spaeder LLP on

Now more than ever, we are aware of the close interplay between mental and physical health. Historically, our health care system has too often turned a blind eye to mental health conditions—simply treating and providing...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

DOL Issues Clarification for ERISA-Governed Group Health Plans

Two days before the one-year anniversary of the official start of the COVID-19 outbreak, the US Department of Labor (DOL) issued a last-minute notice clarifying its prior guidance that relaxed the deadlines for the Employee...more

Groom Law Group, Chartered

The HEROES Act: Key Retirement, Health and Welfare, and Tax Provisions

The House of Representatives recently passed a fourth round of legislation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill – called the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (the “HEROES Act” or the...more

McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC

Mandatory Extension Of Cobra, Claims Procedure And Other Time Frames

On April 30, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Labor extended certain time frames for special enrollment in a health plan, COBRA coverage, claims procedures, and external reviews for all welfare and...more

Groom Law Group, Chartered

DOL & Treasury Extend ERISA-Required Deadlines, Creating Questions & Disruptions in Administrative Procedures

On April 29, 2020, the Departments of Labor (“DOL”) and Treasury (together, the “Departments”) issued guidance extending certain deadlines related to retirement, health, and welfare plans in response to the current COVID-19...more

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC

2019 ERISA Welfare Plan Checklist

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC on

We recognize that many of our clients sponsor ERISA welfare benefit plans and are currently undergoing their open enrollment process and issuing related participant communications. To assist our clients with that process, we...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

DOL Health & Welfare Plan Audit Response and Protection: Reducing Risk Exposure to Avoid Costly Penalties

In a recent presentation, McDermott attorneys discussed how to prepare responses for a Department of Labor (DOL) investigative audit of a company’s health and welfare plan, including required documentation and procedures, DOL...more

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints

Hospital and Fixed Indemnity Policies; Excepted Benefits; Supplemental Coverage under Recently Proposed Treasury Regulations; and...

We reported in a recent post on proposed regulations dealing with, among other things, the treatment of hospital indemnity or other fixed indemnity insurance products in the group market. This post takes a closer look at the...more

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