On June 2, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a significant expansion of its compliance assistance tools by launching an Opinion Letter Program across five key enforcement agencies, including the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA). This initiative aims to provide employers, plan sponsors, and other stakeholders with clear, tailored guidance on complex issues
Employee Health & Welfare Plans
UPDATE – Departments issue nonenforcement policy statement!
Related Links
- A Bit of Mental Health Parity Relief for Employers Sponsoring Group Health Plans
- Departments’ Nonenforcement Policy
Article
On May 15, 2025, the Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services issued their anticipated nonenforcement policy regarding the 2024 Mental Health Parity regulations. As expected, nonenforcement is applicable “only with respect to…
A Bit of Mental Health Parity Relief for Employers Sponsoring Group Health Plans
National Employee Benefits Day: Reflecting on Our Favorite Holiday
Each year, National Employee Benefits Day offers a chance to reflect on the ever-changing landscape of employer-sponsored benefits. This year may be the most pivotal since the COVID-19 relief guidance of 2020. The landscape of employee benefits has seen significant changes, particularly in areas such as health and welfare plan administration, compliance with mental health…
Health Plan Hygiene Part 4 – Show Me the Money
Our “health plan hygiene” series has focused on steps that fiduciaries of employer-sponsored group health plans can take to ensure they meet their fiduciary responsibilities. This issue has been brought to the forefront recently due to a wave of class action lawsuits that have been brought against group health plan fiduciaries. In our last post…
Health Plan Hygiene Part 3 – Best Practices for TPA Evaluation, Selection, and Contracting
A health plan’s fiduciaries are responsible for administering the health plan. Because most employers are not in the business of administering health benefits, they outsource the day-to-day health plan administration to a third-party health plan administrator (TPA). This outsourcing does not mean the employer is off the hook for their fiduciary obligations under ERISA. Even…
DOL Expands Fiduciary Obligations for Cybersecurity to Health and Welfare Plans
A little more than three years ago, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) posted cybersecurity guidance on its website for ERISA plan fiduciaries. That guidance extended only to ERISA-covered retirement plans, despite health and welfare plans facing similar risks to participant data.
Last Friday, the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) issued Compliance Assistance Release…
Health Plan Hygiene Part 2: ERISA Fiduciaries – That May Mean You!
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) regulates most private employee benefit retirement and welfare plans. This statute’s purview is vast; it governs employer-sponsored defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plans and an array of welfare plans.
Under ERISA, a plan fiduciary is an entity that exercises authority or control over the management…
Health Plan Hygiene Part 1: A Spoonful of Sugar Helps the Medicine Go Down
During the next several weeks, we will publish a series of articles that dive deeply into “health plan hygiene” relating to health and welfare benefit plan fiduciary issues and how employers can protect themselves in this quickly evolving area.
Section 408(b)(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) requires certain disclosures regarding…
Employer-Provided Health Coverage During Employee Leaves of Absence
When an employee is on an extended leave of absence, there is often confusion regarding whether and to what extent the employer must continue to provide coverage to the employee under the employer-provided health plan. To determine whether coverage is required, the employer should consider the terms of the plan, COBRA requirements, and whether the…