Sponsors of group health plans received welcome relief from Congress and regulatory agencies which should make health plan administration and reporting less burdensome. The relief comes in the form of a permanent extension of certain Affordable Care Act reporting deadlines, a temporary reprieve from new prescription drug reporting requirements, and a two-year continuation of the ability to offer telehealth and remote care services under HSA-compatible high deductible health plans.
Group Health Plans
| 01.10.2023 |
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| 07.28.2022 |
The Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) and Transparency in Coverage (TiC) Rule comprise the most comprehensive legislative and regulatory reforms facing group health plans since the Affordable Care Act. |
| 07.07.2022 |
In a year already marked by overwhelming legislative and regulatory change, group health plans now must address yet another issue – abortion coverage in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org. The Court overruled Roe v. Wade, eliminating the constitutional right to abortion and leaving states free to regulate the procedure – and health plan sponsors wondering what to do next. |
| 11.23.2021 |
Employers should work with their cafeteria plan or other third-party administrators to ensure that their health FSAs, HSAs, and/or HRAs permit employees to be reimbursed for the costs of home COVID-19 tests. |
| 09.24.2021 |
Regulations recently promulgated under the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) and statutory requirements enacted under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (“CAA”) both include new transparency requirements applicable to group health plans. Unfortunately, however, there is substantial overlap and inconsistency among those twin transparency rules, creating confusion among plan sponsors and health care providers. Guidance issued in August by the Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services attempts to resolve that confusion. |
| 08.20.2021 |
The deadline to send a new COBRA notice required under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”) is approaching quickly. Employers and COBRA administrators will need to send those notices no later than September 15, 2021, to satisfy that obligation. |
| 04.01.2021 |
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA” or “the Act”) into law. Among the Act’s many provisions is a temporary subsidy for COBRA coverage that will undoubtedly be a significant benefit for individuals who lost health coverage during the pandemic, but which is just as certain to be a tremendous administrative burden for employers and group health plans. |
| 01.13.2021 |
In addition to $600 checks for most Americans, the year-end COVID-19 stimulus package signed by the President on December 27, 2020, includes a new round of changes that employers will need to track for their employee benefit plans. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (H.R. 133) (the “Act”) is the fourth major legislative attempt to provide relief to businesses and individuals facing economic hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although lacking a catchy acronym (like the “CARES” and “SECURE” Acts), this legislation makes the most significant changes to health plans since the Affordable Care Act, offers employers and employees additional flexibility for cafeteria plan benefits, and provides additional retirement plan relief. |
| 05.07.2020 |
Deadline relief afforded by a new DOL and IRS Joint Notice during the COVID-19 national emergency significantly changes the administration of both self-funded and fully insured group health plans. Some of the extended deadlines are already causing confusion and increasing compliance risks for employers. |
| 05.04.2020 |
A frequently overlooked portion of the CARES Act offers employers the ability to give their employees some immediate – and cost-free – financial assistance. The Act opens the door for employees to use pre-tax dollars to purchase over-the-counter drugs and menstrual care products. Employers will need to modify health FSAs, HSAs, and HRAs to take advantage of this relief. |
| 04.30.2020 |
The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration issued guidance on April 28, 2020, providing temporary, coronavirus-related relief from many deadlines and requirements under ERISA. Notably, the guidance relaxes the standards for employers to provide notices electronically, and affords significant latitude to COBRA qualified beneficiaries for electing, and paying for, COBRA continuation coverage. |
| 03.31.2020 |
As we are all now intimately aware, the coronavirus pandemic has changed the nature of the workplace, and all of the benefits, rights, and responsibilities arising out of employment. We are operating under a new set of rules, and those rules are changing daily. Employers’ efforts to manage their workforce in order to maintain fiscal viability while protecting the health of employees also affect benefits. The cascading effect of these factors raises many thorny benefits questions. We will summarize – and attempt to answer – a few of those questions here (based on the legal landscape as of March 31, 2020). |
| 06.26.2018 |
Cyberattacks have managed to invade all walks of life, and employee benefit plans are no exception. When a plan is attacked, the fallout can be overwhelmingly expensive and burdensome to correct. Many plan sponsors are purchasing cyber liability insurance coverage to supplement their data security measures. Understanding those policies – and their exclusions – is important for sponsors who are exploring such coverage. |
| 12.20.2017 |
Although the GOP tax reform bill reduces to zero the penalty for failing to comply with the Affordable Care Act’s individual coverage mandate, it does nothing to alleviate the employer ACA mandate. Coincidentally, the IRS has just started issuing notices of potential penalty assessments under that employer mandate (commonly known as the “play-or-pay” provision). These notices take the form of a “Letter 226J” (this notation appears in the footer of each page), and the Letter makes crystal clear the amount of the potential penalty assessment (which can be substantial). This dollar amount appears in bold on the second line of the Letter’s text. |
| 06.02.2016 |
Final regulations issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) under both the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (“GINA”) will require modifications to many employee wellness programs. These modifications may include the deletion of certain questions from health risk assessments, additional employee notification requirements, and a reduction in the incentives used to discourage tobacco usage. Although certain aspects of these regulations will not apply until the first day of the 2017 plan year, others are already in effect. |
| 03.04.2015 |
The well-publicized cyber-attack on Anthem, Inc.’s information technology system may require employers to take prompt action to protect the rights of their health plan participants. Although neither the scope nor the cause of the security breach has yet been determined, the attack has been described as both “massive” and “sophisticated.” |
| 02.19.2015 |
In a series of notices and FAQs, the IRS has clearly enunciated its view that an employer’s reimbursement of an employee’s premiums for individual health insurance violates certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). While reiterating this key point, Notice 2015-17 does grant a limited period of relief for smaller employers. Nonetheless, even those employers should be working toward a June 30 deadline to comply with these ACA constraints. |
| 11.10.2014 |
In the years since the 2010 enactment of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), the agencies charged with enforcing the ACA have worried that certain responses to the law’s requirements could negatively affect the overall health insurance system. For instance, because the ACA requires insurers to issue individual health insurance coverage without regard to health status, sponsors of self-funded employer plans may be tempted to shift their high-risk employees into the individual market. But by leaving only healthier employees in the self-funded plans, this approach could result in “adverse selection” – leading to an erosion of the individual insurance market. |
| 06.26.2014 |
The HIPAA Electronic Transactions and Code Sets rule requires most group health plans to obtain new health plan identifier numbers (HPIDs) by November 5, 2014. While insurers will likely obtain the HPID on behalf of fully insured plans, the task of obtaining the HPID for a self-funded plan will fall upon the plan sponsor. While the process is relatively simple, plan sponsors should begin identifying which group health plan arrangements are subject to the HPID requirement and communicating with plan vendors regarding the requirements. |