ERISA Blog | Changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rules A Primer for Self-Insured Group Health Plans
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - IRS 2024 Health Plan Affordability Threshold May Put Some at Risk
#WorkforceWednesday: Employee and Health Benefits One Year After Dobbs - Employment Law This Week®
The Burr Broadcast April 2023 - The Official End of COVID-19 Emergencies
Taking the Pulse, A Health Care and Life Sciences Video Podcast | Episode 138: Mason Ellerbe, Lead Executive for High Value Health, OneDigital
Employment Law Now VI-121 - Top 5 Fall Things You Need To Know
Dobbs on Demand: Approaching Benefits in the New Legal Environment
How the Dobbs Supreme Court Decision Affects Employee Benefits
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
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - New Prescription Drug and Health Coverage Reporting Requirements
#WorkforceWednesday: OSHA ETS in Review, Texas Vaccine Mandate Ban, Health Premium Incentives - Employment Law This Week®
Navigating the Nuances of the COBRA Subsidy Under the American Rescue Plan Act
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
Leading in a Lonely World Podcast: Meet Jamie Pagliaro, a Leader Who has Made His “Passion” for Helping Others His Life’s Work
COBRA Deadlines and Proofs of Mailing in Carter v. Southwest Airlines Co. Board of Trustees
Midyear Premium Increases and Cafeteria Plan Rules
As the Supreme Court prepares for its next term to begin October 6, let’s look back on all the SCOTUS cases from the past year that impacted your workplace, industry, and litigation exposure. Here’s a quick guide to 12 times...more
A recently filed lawsuit against Northwestern University and its health plan fiduciaries raises novel claims that could be problematic for employers that offer multiple medical benefit options, if the suit gains traction. The...more
On August 21, 2021, Illinois enacted the Consumer Coverage Disclosure Act (the “CCDA”) requiring that Illinois employers provide a disclosure to employees which comparing the employer’s group health plan compares with the...more
Benefits and Beyond: What Happens to PTO, Health Insurance, Retirement Plans, and other Benefits?...more
While most plan sponsors understand that their plans must offer continuation coverage under COBRA for their medical benefits, many administrators find themselves on less solid ground when it comes to COBRA coverage and health...more
Executive employment relationships are rarely permanent. When an executive or other senior-level employee terminates employment, companies often must deal with difficult tax, equity, and benefits issues that arise in...more
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
President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) into law on July 4, 2025. The OBBB is a wide-ranging piece of legislation that introduces significant reforms across multiple areas of federal policy, including...more
The world of health benefits is constantly evolving. Recent policy shifts and legislative developments are expected to impact the economic landscape and have significant implications for employer plan sponsors, insurers,...more
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
Even the most well-managed employee benefit plans may have certain compliance blind spots. From outdated documentation to missed filing deadlines, we have highlighted a few areas below where we often see gaps....more
The U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury have announced that they will pause enforcement of the 2024 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) Final Rule (the “2024 Final Rule”) for...more
The Trump Administration has just announced that it will pause enforcement of the September 2024 final rule (“Final Rule”) under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (“MHPAEA”)....more
On May 9, 2025, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury (collectively, “the Departments”) asked the D.C. federal court to suspend litigation while they consider whether to rescind or modify the 2024...more
Originally published in February 2025, this updated report provides new material on physician practice management (PPM) arrangements, reference-based pricing arrangements, minimum essential coverage (MEC) and MEC+ plans, and...more
A growing number of class action lawsuits have been filed against employer-sponsored self-insured group health plans alleging that tobacco cessation wellness programs violate key provisions of the Employee Retirement Income...more
Only weeks after the principal effective date for the final 2024 federal mental health parity rules for employer-sponsored health benefit plans, those rules—and specifically some key features that are frustrating...more
The end of 2024 gave group health plan sponsors several new lawsuits to watch in 2025. Gurwitch v. SAVE ON SP LLC - On December 26, 2024, a class action complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District...more
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the administration of group health plans is nothing new: AI has been used for a number of years to analyze data, improve risk assessment, identify fraud, and streamline claims...more
The session used the firm’s signature Live-Action Role-Play (LARP) technique to feature insights from Ken Gray, leader of the Labor and Employment Law Group, Amy Fitzhugh, a professional licensing attorney, and Hayley Wells,...more
Over the past several months, numerous large employers and their health plan fiduciaries have faced lawsuits regarding their health plan’s tobacco surcharge. A tobacco surcharge wellness program typically charges a higher...more
The year was packed with developments for health and welfare benefits plans. Our Health Benefits Team reviews 2024, from new data privacy rules to disaster tax relief....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
In February 2024, a group representing (among others) the Johnson & Johnson Group Health Plan and its component plans (Plaintiffs) sued Johnson & Johnson and The Pension & Benefits Committee of Johnson and Johnson (J&J) over...more
A wave of ERISA class-action lawsuits is challenging tobacco surcharge programs in employer-sponsored health plans across the U.S. These cases center on potential fiduciary breaches, with plaintiffs arguing that surcharges...more