Navigating the Nuances of the COBRA Subsidy Under the American Rescue Plan Act
AGG Talks: Solving Employers’ Problems - The American Rescue Plan Act’s COBRA Subsidy: What Is It and How Does It Work?
COBRA Deadlines and Proofs of Mailing in Carter v. Southwest Airlines Co. Board of Trustees
Podcast: Employers and the American Rescue Plan - Employment Law This Week® - #WorkforceWednesday
How the American Rescue Plan Act Affects COBRA
#WorkforceWednesday: The American Rescue Plan, OSHA’s New COVID-19 Directive, and NY Mandates COVID-19 Vaccine PTO - Employment Law This Week®
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - DOL’s Guidance on Continued COVID-19 Timeframe Relief
Three Timely Benefits Items Everyone Should Know
COBRA: Avoid Getting Snakebit! (Notice Update, Deadline Update, Litigation Update)
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - COVID-19 Edition - Deadline Extensions Impacting HIPAA, COBRA and ERISA
Employers: Benefits Considerations Post-Pandemic [More with McGlinchey Ep. 3]
COVID-19 Impact for Health & Welfare Plans (Troutman Sanders and Pepper Hamilton COVID-19 Issues for Employers Podcast Series)
Has the Affordable Care Act influenced COBRA? What if my employer fails to offer COBRA?
It is a common practice for employers to offer employees a health care flexible spending account (“Health FSA”) option under a cafeteria plan. However, employers (and their COBRA administrators) may not be aware that Health...more
Where did the time go? Just a brief 1,199 days after it began, the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) is coming to an end. The PHE formally ends on May 11, 2023, short of any unexpected developments. And that means the...more
The American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”) requires the full cost of COBRA premiums to be subsidized for COBRA continuation coverage during the period from April 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021 (“Subsidy Period”) of certain...more
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration and the IRS recently issued the following coordinated guidance providing additional relief to employee benefit plan sponsors, fiduciaries, participants,...more
On June 13, the Departments of Labor, Treasury and Health and Human Services jointly released final regulations dealing with health reimbursement accounts (“HRAs”). These regulations fulfill the Trump administration’s...more
On June 13, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of the Treasury (Treasury Department) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) (collectively, the “Departments”)...more
Changes are imminent for the Affordable Care Act and a range of other laws and regulations affecting the health care industry. Ballard Spahr attorneys established a Health Care Reform Initiative in 2008 to monitor and analyze...more
With the filing of a class action complaint in late 2016 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. became the latest large company accused of failing to provide adequate notices as...more
On December 13, 2016 President Obama signed into law the 21st Century Cures Act. The law had been approved with bipartisan support in the House by a vote of 392 to 26 and in the Senate by a vote of 94 to 5. The law addresses...more
Retirement Plans - IRS Issues Guidance on Benefit Suspension Voting under MPRA - As we have written in prior alerts, the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 (MPRA) permits trustees of financially troubled...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued new proposed COBRA regulations. The regulations include an updated model general notice and model election notice under the federal COBRA law. Use of the model notices is not...more
Since January 1, 2014, individuals and employees have been able to purchase medical health insurance coverage through federal and state exchanges (the “Exchanges”). Questions have remained, however, as to how health coverage...more
Recent developments under the Affordable Care Act and COBRA, and existing rules governing mid-year election changes under cafeteria plans, have combined to make it challenging for certain terminating employees and those...more
The Affordable Care Act created a new option to obtain health insurance for employees who are losing job-based coverage—the Health Insurance Marketplace (commonly referred to as the “Exchange”). Because this new coverage...more
Health & Welfare Plans - July 1 Deadline to Begin Measuring Employee Hours for ACA Employer Mandate/“Pay or Play” - As we have discussed in many previous alerts, the Affordable Care Act’s employer shared...more
Just a note to let you know that the updated COBRA model General and Election Notices can now be found at www.dol.gov/ebsa/compliance_assistance.html. The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985...more
On May 2, 2014, the Department of Labor ("DOL") issued new model COBRA notices in conjunction with a proposed rule that would shift the role of the DOL's model COBRA notices from a helpful example to an indicator of required...more
As part of its continuing efforts to update the sleepier corners of the employee benefits world to conform to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently proposed new...more
There has been much confusion and concern about the interplay between the COBRA continuation coverage rules and the new Health Insurance Marketplace established under the Affordable Care Act (the “Marketplace”). One important...more
Particularly with the issuance of final regulations under the Affordable Care Act’s employer shared responsibility rules, employers have been concerned—justifiably—with the pay-or-play penalties. ...more
What do all of these acronyms stand for and why do employers and human resource professionals care? These acronyms stand for statutory requirements which apply to employer-provided health plans and stiff penalties can apply...more
As we approach the end of the year, employers and plan sponsors of qualified retirement plans and health and welfare plans should take time to meet various upcoming deadlines. Failure to comply with the deadlines may result...more
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the “Act”) amends the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) to require employers of all sizes to provide their employees a notice of the availability of coverage through public...more
On June 26, 2013, in U.S. v. Windsor, the United States Supreme Court struck down the portion of the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) that defined marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman. This decision will...more
On June 26, 2013, the United States Supreme Court overturned Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”), which required the federal government to deny married same-sex couples the rights and benefits provided to...more