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
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
Santa is not the only person who should be making a list and checking it twice this December. All sponsors of self-insured medical plans should also make sure that they double-check their year end to do lists....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
On Labor Day fifty years ago, September 2, 1974, President Ford signed the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) into law. It is a combination of tax and labor law incorporating trust law like fiduciary...more
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
It was a lively year for health benefits. Our Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group unpacks 2023, from the end of the COVID-19 emergencies to the much-anticipated Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act...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
On December 29, 2022, the President signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (“CAA, 2023”), into law. The CAA, 2023, which is largely a bipartisan spending bill, sunsets provisions of the Public Health Service Act...more
While many in the U.S. have attempted to resume a sense of normalcy despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, for employer-sponsored health plans, special “emergency” pandemic rules and extensions remain in effect. As previously...more
Amazon. Bank of America. Citigroup. Dick’s Sporting Goods. JP Morgan. Kroger. Meta. Microsoft. Procter & Gamble. Target. Walt Disney Company. These are just a few of what is a growing list of companies that have offered to...more
The implications of the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned Roe v. Wade’s constitutional right to abortion have had sweeping implications that affect...more
On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its highly anticipated decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, No. 19-1392. The Dobbs decision expressly overrules the two key precedents that...more
The constitutional right to abortion has been eliminated. The Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, undoing a federal standard that had legalized abortions since 1973. ...more
The focus of this week’s post is on an emerging hot topic, abortion care travel reimbursement. Reimbursement for travel to obtain abortion care was already something being considered by a number of companies in response to...more
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) just announced increased penalty amounts for entities who violate the privacy, security, and breach notification rules under the Health Insurance Portability and...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 that are considering imposing health plan premium surcharges to encourage their employees to get vaccinated have clearer guidance on how to do so without running afoul of the nondiscrimination rules under the Health...more
In light of the lingering COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on employee productivity and health care expenses, employers are considering imposing a premium surcharge on employees participating in the company’s health plan who...more
Imposing Group Health Plan Monthly Surcharges on the Unvaccinated - Calling it “a more-punitive approach toward getting its workforce vaccinated against Covid-19,” the Wall Street Journal recently reported that Delta...more
On this episode of Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion, host Brydon DeWitt explores compliance considerations for employers who are considering imposing a health insurance surcharge on plan participants who are not...more
The recent announcement that Delta Airlines will begin imposing a $200 per month health insurance surcharge on unvaccinated employees has prompted many employers to consider whether a similar surcharge may be an alternative...more
As many companies continue to struggle with low employee COVID-19 vaccination rates, some employers are evaluating imposing higher premiums for unvaccinated employees under their group medical plans. These employers see this...more
For years (and we do mean years), the EEOC has waffled about whether incentives were permissible in connection with a medical inquiry under a voluntary wellness program. Friday, the EEOC issued its most recent pronouncement...more
On January 7th, the EEOC released proposed new regulations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) for employer-offered wellness programs. (As of January 15,...more