Summary -
Throughout 2020 and 2021, employers sponsoring health and welfare plans have needed to respond to a myriad of legislative and regulatory changes arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and new health legislation. To...more
In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court rebuffed a challenge to the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, finding that the plaintiffs who challenged the ACA lacked standing to bring the lawsuit....more
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York blocked federal rules seeking to remove nondiscrimination protections for health care patients. The blocked rules would have removed protections against...more
8/21/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Gender Identity ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Reform ,
New Rules ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Sexual Stereotyping ,
Title IX ,
Title VII
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has finalized rules that narrow and eliminate various nondiscrimination requirements under Section 1557 of the...more
Across the United States, employers are carefully considering how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting their business. As we await further guidance and pronouncements from federal, state, and local officials, some employers are...more
3/18/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
DFSA ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Furloughs ,
Health and Safety ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Layoffs ,
Public Health ,
Retirement Plan ,
Unemployment Benefits
Below is a summary of those key provisions. I. SECURE Act The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the SECURE Act, H.R. 1994) is arguably the most significant and comprehensive retirement saving...more
12/23/2019
/ 401k ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Benefits ,
Health Insurance Tax ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Medical Leave ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
PCORI ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Rates ,
Tax Reform ,
UBIT
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
As widely reported, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed the American Health Care Act (AHCA), a bill that, if enacted, would make the first major legislative changes to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Modified to...more
5/8/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
American Health Care Act (AHCA) ,
Cadillac Tax ,
CBO Report ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Health Benefits ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Exchanges ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Medicare ,
Premium Subsidies ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Repeal ,
Trump Administration
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has finalized regulations designed to help stabilize the individual and small group health insurance markets and, in particular, the health insurance exchanges...more
The House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees have released, in two parts, budget reconciliation legislation, the first steps of Congress' proposal to "repeal and replace" the Affordable Care Act. Reconciliation...more
3/8/2017
/ Abortion ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Cadillac Tax ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Employer Mandates ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Individual Mandate ,
Medicaid ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Repeal ,
Tax Credits ,
Trump Administration ,
Ways and Means Committee
When Donald Trump won the presidential election in November, management-side labor and employment lawyers everywhere scrambled to figure out what the changing administration would mean for our nation's employers and our...more
1/23/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Joint Employers ,
LGBTQ ,
Minimum Salary ,
NLRB ,
Over-Time ,
Section 7 ,
Transgender ,
White-Collar Exemptions
The Internal Revenue Service has issued a new notice addressing issues relating to future rules governing the calculation and payment of the so-called “Cadillac tax” under the Affordable Care Act. Beginning in 2018, the ACA...more
The U.S. Departments of Treasury, Labor (DOL) and Health and Human Services (HHS) have issued interim final regulations and Frequently Asked Questions and Answers on the cost-free coverage of preventive services under the...more
8/3/2015
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Burwell v Hobby Lobby ,
Closely Held Businesses ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Hobby Lobby ,
Preventive Health Care ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Religious Institutions ,
U.S. Treasury
In a much-anticipated decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that individuals who enroll for coverage in a health insurance exchange may qualify for a subsidy to make that coverage more affordable, regardless of whether...more
The U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury have jointly issued a new set of FAQs that clarifies the application of the rules establishing cost-sharing limits. For 2016, non-grandfathered group...more
Monday, the Internal Revenue Service issued preliminary but much-anticipated guidance on the so-called Cadillac tax imposed by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The new notice offers very few concrete answers to employer...more
In the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act (the recently enacted federal budget bill often known as the “CRomnibus” legislation), Congress has exempted health plans designed to cover expatriates from most...more