Most employers know that if a group health plan provides mental health or substance use disorder (MH/SUD) benefits in any of six specified classifications, the plan must provide MH/SUD benefits in all specified classifications in which the plan provides medical or surgical (M/S) benefits. Additionally, the 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addition Equity Act (MHPAEA)

We previously wrote about President Biden’s announcement to end the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) and National Emergency (NE) periods on May 11, 2023, and the practical ramifications for employer group health plan sponsors as they administer COBRA, special enrollment, and other related deadlines tied to the end of the NE. As discussed, this action

The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (the Act) contains several provisions that liberalize the rules for fixing particular retirement plan administrative mistakes that happen occasionally.  The IRS has a comprehensive program for correcting retirement plan failures, the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS), including a self-correction program and a voluntary compliance program (VCP). 

Welcome to Part 8 of our series about the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0) (our other articles may be found on our JL Employee Benefits Blog Post Page).  Among the many changes within SECURE 2.0 are two provisions that may help employers reduce the number of retirement plan accounts of terminated vested

We recently summarized the regulatory back and forth of the past few years relating to environmental, social, and corporate governance (“ESG”) factors and their impact on ERISA retirement plans and the fiduciaries that oversee them. 

As expected, the Biden administration released a proposed rule last year that re-opened the door (previously closed by the Trump

As group health plan sponsors, employers are responsible for ensuring compliance with the prescription drug data collection (RxDC) reporting requirements added to ERISA by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA).  Under ERISA section 725, enforced by the US Department of Labor (DOL), group health plans (not account-based plans, e.g., health reimbursement arrangements and health

For those with an eye on ERISA and its fiduciary rules, the past few years have caused whiplash when it comes to environmental, social, and corporate governance (“ESG”) investments in retirement plans.  With a new rule from the Department of Labor imminent, let’s review where we are, how we got here, and what’s next.

ERISA

As many expected based on the draft opinion that was leaked months ago, the U.S. Supreme Court has held the U.S. Constitution does not protect the right to obtain an abortion. Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, No. 19-1392 (June 24, 2022).

Dobbs overturns nearly 50 years of precedent from the Court’s decision in 

Most group health plan sponsors understand that the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) requires that coverage for mental health conditions and substance use disorders be no more restrictive than coverage for other medical and surgical conditions.  In 2020, Congress changed the law to require plans to perform and document comparative analyses of