Popular, Employer Group Health Plans, Health Insurance

Employers Continue to Face ERISA Tobacco Surcharge Lawsuits, With Mixed Results

Husch Blackwell LLP on 8/6/2025

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

Rising ERISA Class-Action Lawsuits Over Tobacco Surcharges in Health Plans: What Employers Need to Know + 6 Steps to Stay...

Fisher Phillips on 11/26/2024

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

What Employers Should Know About Tobacco Surcharge Litigation

UB Greensfelder LLP on 11/22/2024

Tobacco surcharges have become the focus of class action litigation in recent months. Although corporate wellness programs are commonplace, employers that impose a tobacco surcharge (or other premium discount) in connection...more

Landmark Mental Health Parity Final Rule: What Plan Sponsors and Insurers Need to Know

McDermott Will & Schulte on 9/18/2024

The US Departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (the Departments) recently issued much-anticipated final regulations under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). The newly issued...more

Employers Must Keep Reproductive Health Information About Their Plan Participants Private Under New HIPAA Privacy Rule

Akerman LLP - HR Defense on 6/4/2024

Imagine you are a corporate Human Resources/Total Rewards leader who receives a request from a state’s law enforcement agency for health plan records about a plan participant’s abortions or other reproductive health care. How...more

Attention, Group Health Plans: New HIPAA Privacy Rule Governing Reproductive Health Care Information Imposes Obligations,...

Akerman LLP - Health Law Rx on 5/23/2024

It is critical for employers and plan fiduciaries/administrators to stay informed of HIPAA privacy and security-related legal developments because most employer sponsored group health plans — regardless of the employer’s...more

Navigating Mid-Year Benefit Election Changes

Woodruff Sawyer on 5/16/2024

One of the most common questions that we receive is whether an employee can change their benefits elections after the plan year has already started (also referred to as a mid-year change). The answer is very fact-specific...more

The Demise of Roe v. Wade: Employment and Benefits Considerations

Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC on 7/18/2022

On June 24, 2022, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org., 2022 WL 2276808 (June 24, 2022), the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade 410 U.S. 113 (1973) and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey 505...more

COVID-19 Testing Coverage Requirements for Group Health Plans and Insurers to Take Effect on January 15, 2022

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 1/12/2022

Employer health plans and health insurers will be required to cover over-the-counter (OTC) COVID-19 tests, even without a health care provider’s order or an individualized clinical assessment, and generally without cost...more

New COVID-19 Relief Law Includes Full COBRA Premium Subsidy

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 3/18/2021

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), which became law on March 11, 2021, provides a 100 percent subsidy of premiums under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) beginning on April 1, 2021, through...more

Six Months of Paid COBRA Premiums for "Assistance Eligible Individuals"

Baker Donelson on 3/15/2021

On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) into law. Included among the many pandemic relief provisions in ARPA is a COBRA subsidy structure that is now designed to fully subsidize...more

IRS announces relief for certain Form 1094/1095 reporting requirements

McAfee & Taft on 10/19/2020

In a similar move as in previous years, the IRS has issued relief from certain Form 1094-C and 1095-C reporting requirements under the Affordable Care Act relating to employee health plans, as well as relief from certain...more

Have you done your ACA affordability cost-share homework for the 2021 health plan year?

Bricker Graydon LLP on 7/27/2020

The IRS recently released the 2021 ACA affordability percentage in Rev. Proc. 2020-36. The 2021 percentage has increased to 9.83 percent, up from the 2020 rate of 9.78 percent. Many employers and carriers are doing prep work...more

Families First Coronavirus Response Act: From a Benefits Perspective

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive... on 3/21/2020

On March 18, 2020, the Senate passed and the President signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “Families First Act” or the “Act) which was first drafted and passed by the House earlier in the week. ...more

COVID-19 developments in employee medical insurance

Bricker Graydon LLP on 3/17/2020

HDHP and HSA participants - The IRS has expanded prior guidance to allow health plans to pay first-dollar costs for testing and treatment of COVID-19 without jeopardizing the participant’s HSA eligibility. ...more

IRS Provides Relief for High-Deductible Health Plans to Cover COVID-19 Testing and Treatment Without Deductibles

Ballard Spahr LLP on 3/16/2020

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a notice that allows individuals to participate in a health savings account (HSA) while participating in a high deductible health plan (HDHP) that provides coverage for both the...more

IRS Extends ACA Reporting Deadline and Issues Transition Relief

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive... on 12/3/2019

The IRS has not yet finalized the ACA reporting forms (i.e., the 1094-B/C and 1095-B/C) for the 2019 tax year, so it is no surprise that the IRS issued guidance this week extending the deadline to furnish the forms to...more

Weekly IRS Roundup November 11 – 15, 2019

McDermott Will & Schulte on 11/21/2019

Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of November 11–15, 2019. November 11, 2019: The IRS released Delegation Order 30-9 announcing the...more

Is the Affordable Care Act a House of Cards? If Yes, What Does the Recent Texas Court Decision Mean for the US Health Insurance...

Epstein Becker & Green on 12/19/2018

In an unexpectedly broad ruling issued December 14, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas declared the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) as unconstitutional in its entirety. This decision, if ultimately...more

Massachusetts Health Insurance Responsibility Disclosure Form Must Be Filed by November 30 and Annually Thereafter

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive... on 11/29/2018

Massachusetts recently published guidance regarding its new Health Insurance Responsibility Disclosure (HIRD) annual filing, which is due for the first time on November 30, 2018 and then annually thereafter. This new HIRD...more

Have you HIRD? Massachusetts Employers Must File a Health Insurance Responsibility Disclosure Form by November 30th

Littler on 11/21/2018

New guidance issued by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue requires Massachusetts employers with six or more employees to file an annual health insurance responsibility disclosure (HIRD) form. The form became available on...more

DOL Exempts Franchise Business Owners from Joint-Employer Liability - New Rule a Welcome Change to Franchise Owners and Small...

Best Best & Krieger LLP on 7/11/2018

Under a recent Department of Labor ruling, franchise business owners that band together to form Association Health Plans are precluded from joint-employer liability that may arise from that relationship....more

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