Labor & Employment Symposium - Topics: Religious Accommodations—Vaccinations; DOL Mental Health Parity Audits
Podcast: What's New for Insurers in Mental Health Parity Compliance - Diagnosing Health Care
Department of Labor Imposes Additional Requirement on Employer-Provided Health Services
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
We previously reported on proposed regulations under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). If adopted in final form, these regulations would vastly complicate compliance by group health plans and health...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
New regulatory guidance from three federal agencies that enforce private-sector benefits laws will make employers’ daunting 2021 health benefit to-do lists slightly - but only slightly - more manageable heading into 2022....more
In this week’s episode, Carla DewBerry and Kelsey Jernigan discuss issues in mental health parity in the context of recent California legislation. In particular, the presenters discuss how a new California bill has sparked a...more
In this edition of our Newsletter, we take a look at a pair of cases that, while unrelated, together remind us of the importance of having clear plan rules in place that reflect the plan sponsor’s intention. The first article...more
By way of background, the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) prevents group health plans and health insurance issuers that provide mental health or substance use disorder benefits from imposing less...more
The Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of the Treasury, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are making good on their promise to issue more guidance and to aggressively enforce the federal Mental...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently released a draft model form for plan participants to request disclosures from group health plans and insurers about restrictions on mental health coverage. The form is designed to...more
The Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services recently released a frequently asked question (“FAQ”) regarding the implementation of the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction...more
The Senate’s health care reform bill was released today, and we will report on that separately. In the meantime, below are key health care reform developments from the week of June 12th....more
Banner Health and the Kaiser Foundation were recently hit with separate class action lawsuits challenging their denials of certain mental health care coverage...more
While on this day, most people focus on the heart, we’re going to spend a little time focusing on the head. Under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), health plans generally cannot impose more stringent...more
The Cures Act aims to increase the speed by which new drugs are brought to market by streamlining clinical trials, allowing the use of patient data in the regulatory review process, and modernizing U.S. Food and Drug...more
The day after the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Epstein Becker Green, in conjunction with Jefferies LLC, hosted “The Ballots Are Counted: How the New Political Landscape Will Shape Health Care Investing.” The event was...more
The U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury have issued a set of Frequently Asked Questions and Answers that, among other things, implement certain of the recommendations included in a report...more
On April 20, the “Big Three” agencies (DOL, Treasury/IRS, and HHS) released another set of FAQs (the 31st, for those of you counting at home). Consistent with earlier FAQs, the new FAQs cover a broad range of items under 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