PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Gag Clause Prohibitions
On this episode of Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion, host Brydon DeWitt discusses prohibitive gag clauses under the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA). While intended to promote transparency, not all gag clauses are...more
On January 14, 2024, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Office of Personnel Management (the “Departments”) jointly released the FAQs About Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 Implementation Part 69...more
The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury, with the Office of Personnel Management (the “Departments”) jointly released FAQs About Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 Implementation Part 69...more
As we bid farewell to 2024 and look ahead to the new year, we reflect on the many evolving compliance obligations that health and welfare plan sponsors tackle each year. Although this list is by no means exhaustive, it...more
As mentioned in our recent blog post, the recently filed class action lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson (Lewandowski v. Johnson & Johnson et. al., D.N.J., No. 1:24-cv-00671 (Feb. 5, 2024)) over alleged excessive prescription...more
As part of the No Surprises progeny of legislation seeking transparency in health care, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 prohibits the use of "gag clauses" in group health plan agreements. All group health plans...more
One of the many benefits-related provisions in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 prohibits the use of “gag clauses” in group health plan agreements. Before this law, medical plan service agreements would often...more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 prohibits group health plans from agreeing to avoid making certain disclosures of provider-specific cost or quality-of-care information. This is referred to as the gag clause...more
This is a reminder that a new compliance deadline is on the horizon for group health plans. The Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) of 2021 generally prohibits group health plans and health insurance issuers from entering...more
By December 31, 2023, group health plans and health insurance issuers must submit an attestation to certify compliance with the “gag clause prohibition” under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA)....more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 generally requires group health plans and health insurance issuers to submit a Gag Clause Prohibition Compliance Attestation (Attestation) each year to demonstrate compliance with...more
The time may have come to add a welfare plan committee to your company’s governance of employee benefit plans. New legal obligations and other developments impose fiduciary risks for welfare plans similar to what already...more
Although the end of the year seems far away, employers should start preparing for the anti-gag clause attestations for their group health plans that are due December 31. Namely, employers need to determine who is completing...more
By December 31, 2023, health plans and insurers must submit an attestation of compliance with the “anti-gag rules” of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA). The rules apply to all agreements entered into on or...more
Under the Consolidated Appropriation Act of 2021 (CAA), group health plans and health insurance issuers are prohibited from entering into agreements with service providers restricting certain information that the plan may...more
Summary - By December 31, 2023, health plans and insurers must submit an attestation of compliance with the anti-gag rules of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA). The rules apply to all agreements entered into...more
Effective December 27, 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (“CAA”), as part of its transparency in health care protections, prohibits group health plans and issuers from entering into agreements that directly or...more
Certain provisions of the Transparency in Coverage Final Regulations and the Consolidated Appropriation Act, 2021 (“CAA”) require group health plans and/or their vendors to report information to federal agencies. On December...more
On February 23, 2023, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury(collectively the “Departments”) released guidance to initiate the enforcement provisions related to the “gag clause” prohibitions...more
When the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “CAA”) was enacted on December 27, 2020, it included a provision that prohibits group health plans and health insurance carriers from entering into certain agreements that,...more
Under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA), group health plans and health insurance issuers are required to annually attest that they are in compliance with the CAA’s gag clause prohibition. On a high level, the...more
Group health plans must comply with several new requirements set forth by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA) and the Transparency in Coverage regulations (TiC Regulations) under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). ...more
With each new year, new legal obligations for employers sponsoring group health plans seem to arrive. This article provides a brief overview and reminder of some of the new key requirements for 2022, many of which we have...more
Summary - Health plan vendors sometimes impose contractual restrictions on the disclosure of data that they consider to be confidential or proprietary. A number of new rules aim to foster transparency and require...more
The Consolidated Appropriation Act of 2021 was signed into law on December 27, 2020 and is an impressive 5,593 pages. According to the Senate Historical Office, the Act is the longest bill ever passed by Congress. Buried...more