COVID-19 Impact for Health & Welfare Plans (Troutman Sanders and Pepper Hamilton COVID-19 Issues for Employers Podcast Series)
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
On July 4, 2025, the president signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1) into law. Among many other healthcare provisions, the bill permanently extends the telehealth safe harbor for high-deductible health plans (HDHPs)...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 recent string of lawsuits, regulatory guidance, and market trends have dramatically impacted the types of services that enjoy first dollar coverage under high deductible health plan (HDHP) and health savings account (HSA)...more
The Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services (the “Departments”) recently released guidance for group health plans on required preventive services coverage. The guidance was issued in response to 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
On July 17, 2019 the IRS released Notice 2019-45 resolving a preventive care problem that has been plaguing many high deductible health plans (“HDHPs.”). The Affordable Care Act’s free preventive care mandate appears to be...more
On July 17, 2019, the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) released Notice 2019-45 which expands the list of permissible preventive care benefits for high deductible health plan (“HDHP”) purposes. Among other requirements, an...more
On April 3, we blogged about a reduction in the HSA contribution limit for family coverage in 2018 from $6,900 to $6,850. This was a technical change resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that adjusted the method for...more
U.S. Senate Republicans on June 22, 2017, released a discussion draft of the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 (BCRA), its bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The BCRA follows on the heels of the...more
One of the hottest benefit trends in 2017 is the adoption of free or low-cost “telemedicine” programs to provide employees easy and affordable access to medical care. However, you need to proceed with caution when introducing...more
On May 4, 2017, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2017-37 setting dollar limitations for health savings accounts (HSAs) and high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) for 2018. HSAs are subject to annual aggregate contribution...more
High-deductible health plans (HDHPs) are among the fastest growing health plans in both the individual and group markets. For calendar year 2017, the IRS defines an HDHP as any health plan with a minimum deductible of $1300...more
Employers are increasingly concerned with the high cost of health care and executives in the C-Suite are beginning to take notice. The Affordable Care Act (‘‘ACA’’) required employers who sponsor group health plans to adopt a...more
As employers and plans prepare for 2016 open enrollment, they must be sure to address in their benefit design and with their third party vendors the new embedded out-of-pocket maximum limitations on individuals that were...more