Changing Telehealth Rules
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Health Plan Transparency Requirements
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Group Health Plan Service Provider Compensation Disclosure Requirements
Podcast: What's New for Insurers in Mental Health Parity Compliance - Diagnosing Health Care
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Employee Retention Tax Credit Expansion
Department of Labor Imposes Additional Requirement on Employer-Provided Health Services
COVID-19 Relief in 2021: What Small Businesses Need to Know
On-Demand Webinar | Navigating Leave and Disability Protection Laws During COVID-19: A Practical Guide for California Employers
COVID-19 in the Workplace - PPP Update, COVID Plans from the Biden Transition Team, Higher Education Relief Package Provision, COVID WARN Act Developments
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - New Round of COVID-19 Relief Expands Assistance for Employers
After much uncertainty, Congress has extended many Medicare telehealth flexibilities through March 31, 2025, in its end-of-year appropriations bill. However, several important flexibilities, such as first-dollar coverage of...more
The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) generally requires group health plans and health insurance issuers to ensure that financial requirements (such as copays and deductibles), quantitative treatment...more
With only two weeks remaining in the year, Congress is considering a government funding deal (the “Further Continuing Appropriations and Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2025” or the “Bill”) that includes a...more
During the COVID-19 pandemic, both federal and state governments enacted a host of laws and implemented flexibilities to ensure health care providers, hospitals, and health systems could move traditional brick-and-mortar care...more
The temporary telehealth flexibilities that Medicare patients and providers have become accustomed to since the COVID-19 pandemic are set to expire December 31, 2024. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 extended many...more
The No Surprises Act, a law that ended the practice of “balance billing” by certain out-of-network providers, was enacted as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 on December 27, 2020. While the law passed...more
On December 5, 2024, FDA unveiled the draft guidance for industry regarding accelerated approval for drugs and biologics. This guidance provides additional information regarding the development of drugs and biologics to treat...more
Employers providing health plan coverage through a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) may need to amend their HDHP before year-end to remove first-dollar telehealth coverage. Although prior regulatory relief permitted...more
Updated November 18, 2024 – The Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA), 2023 (Public Law 117-328), signed into law on December 29, 2022, extended certain key telehealth flexibilities instituted during the COVID-19 public...more
On November 1, 2024, CMS issued a final rule with updates to the Medicare payment rates for the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and the Medicare Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Payment System for...more
Our Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group discusses what health plan sponsors need to know about the final rule on nonquantitative treatment limitations (NQTLs) and NQTL comparative analysis under the Mental Health...more
Congress returned to Washington this week with just five weeks left in this year’s legislative calendar. With a Continuing Resolution (CR) that expires December 20, 2024, either a year-end spending package or a new Continuing...more
We are pleased to present our annual End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we present our “To Do” Lists in four separate SW Benefits Updates. This Part 1 covers year-end health and welfare plan issues. Parts 2,...more
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld regulations defining the qualifying payment amount (QPA). The QPA is a key factor in determining how much individuals and health plans must pay out-of-network providers in...more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA), 2023 (Public Law 117-328), signed into law on December 29, 2022, extended certain key virtual care flexibilities instituted during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) through...more
There is much that happens in Washington, D.C., and in the states in the 76 days between Election Day (November 5, 2024) and Inauguration Day (January 20, 2025). My last post identified some of the unfinished business the...more
The long-anticipated final rule under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) was published on September 9, 2024. The MHPAEA prohibits group health plans that provide mental health and substance use...more
If you are a state or local government that sponsors a “self-funded” employee group health plan instead of using an insurance provider, you had previously been allowed to “opt out” of compliance with the following four...more
On September 6, 2024, CMS released revised guidance regarding the process by which rural hospitals and outpatient facilities can participate in Medicare as a Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) rather than a Critical Access...more
The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act and its implementing regulations and guidance (MHPAEA) prohibit health insurance policies and group health plans that cover mental health and substance use disorder (MH/SUD)...more
On September 9, 2024, the three federal departments responsible for regulating the health care benefits for more than 175 million Americans with private health insurance issued a final rule (the “Final Rule”) implementing...more
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the invalidity of regulations governing the independent review process under the No Surprise Billing Rules....more
CMS's FY 2025 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) Final Rule (Final Rule) finalizes several noteworthy proposals related to graduate medical education (GME) payment opportunities. Below are the takeaways from the...more
The U.S. Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services, and the Treasury (collectively, the “Tri-Departments”) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on August 3, 2023, to propose new regulations for the...more
On July 31, 2024, CMS published a final rule updating the Medicare rates and policies applicable to inpatient psychiatric facilities (IPFs) under the IPF Prospective Payment System (PPS) and the IPF Quality Reporting Program...more