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Dobbs on Demand: Approaching Benefits in the New Legal Environment
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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: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - 2023 Benefits Forecast with Mercer
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PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Can Employers Impose a Health Insurance Surcharge on Plan Participants Not Vaccinated for COVID-19?
AGG Talks: Solving Employers’ Problems - Health Plan Premium Surcharges for the Unvaccinated: Are They Legal and How Do They Work?
Podcast: What's New for Insurers in Mental Health Parity Compliance - Diagnosing Health Care
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Midyear Premium Increases and Cafeteria Plan Rules
Many employers implement wellness programs into their employee health plan offering. Wellness programs have varying designs but commonly offer premium discounts to participants who are tobacco-free or achieve certain...more
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) prohibits employers who offer health and welfare benefit plans from discriminating against plan participants on the basis of a health status-related factor, such as a...more
We are pleased to present our annual End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we present our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. This Part 1 covers year-end health and welfare plan issues....more
In light of the March 30 Braidwood Mgmt. Inc. v. Becerra decision, the Department of Labor, Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of the Treasury (the “departments”) have issued FAQ guidance on how the...more
On September 30, 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued FAQs addressing how the HIPAA Privacy Rule applies to individuals’ disclosures of their COVID-19 vaccination status in the workplace and health...more
The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a set of Frequently Asked Questions about the interaction of HIPAA, the Affordable Care Act, and various group health plan issues relating to the COVID-19...more
Employers who sponsor group health plans will be interested in new guidance released last week by the DOL, IRS and HHS in the form of five COVID-19 related FAQs. Two of the FAQs address group health plan coverage requirements...more
On January 7, 2021, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued proposed guidance regarding employer-sponsored wellness programs and the level of incentives employers may offer employees who participate in these...more
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
As open enrollment approaches for the 2019 calendar year, below are some items employers may want to consider: Wellness program changes – Many employers change their wellness programs during open enrollment. This is a...more
A health wellness program is broadly defined as any program of health promotion or disease prevention. In a recent article entitled “Health Wellness Programs – An Introduction and a Resource”, I reviewed certain...more
In 2015, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission adopted regulations that limit the amount of incentives employers can provide employees to participate in wellness programs under the companies’ group medical insurance...more
On the morning of July 28, 2017, another effort to repeal or replace the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) failed in a 49-51 Senate vote when three Republican senators voted against the bill. Attempts to pass even a trimmed down...more
This month we review a recent Second Circuit decision addressing ERISA plan status as a class member in a securities shareholder class action. As discussed in the article, the decision exposes a potential conflict among the...more
EEOC Issues Final Regulations on Wellness Programs - It seems to be a win-win when employers who provide employees with incentives to encourage healthy behavior. But employers that do so must contend with an alphabet...more
This is the 54th in a series of WorkCite articles concerning the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and its companion statute, the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (referred to collectively as the...more
On October 23, 2015, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Treasury (the “Agencies”) jointly released their twenty-ninth (XXIX) set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Affordable Care Act (ACA)...more
On October 23, 2015, the U.S. Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS), and Treasury issued frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the implementation of preventive care and wellness provisions of the...more
In June 2013, DOL, HHS and IRS explained that they view employer-sponsored wellness programs as narrow exceptions to the ACA’s health status discrimination prohibition. Early this year, the EEOC slathered-on its own rules,...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
As we previously reported, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released Proposed Rules on April 16, 2015 to provide guidance under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on permissible employer incentives...more
Editor's Overview - This month we focus on the EEOC's proposed rules concerning wellness programs. As our colleague, Amy Covert, discusses, a recent change of position by the EEOC provides employers with opportunities...more
Wait a minute. You mean to tell me that, even if I follow the guidance issued under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended (HIPAA), in implementing a “legally-compliant” wellness program,...more
In December 2014, we highlighted the challenges that employers have been facing in ensuring that their wellness programs are not in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Genetic Information...more
Perhaps never before have employers faced so many challenges when it comes to health care issues affecting their workforce. Congress may try to amend the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). The Supreme Court of the United States is...more