Employee Health & Welfare Plans

As employers and insurers continue to establish programs to enable participants in group health plans to receive at-home COVID-19 tests at no cost, even without a prescription, the Department of Labor (DOL) has issued additional guidance and an updated FAQ providing further clarification and flexibility to insurers and plan sponsors in providing coverage to eligible

The California Employment Development Department (EDD) has released the Voluntary Plan Employee Contribution and Benefit Rates for 2022.

Employers with employees located in California are generally required to withhold and send state disability contributions to the EDD. The 2022 rates are as follows:

“Employee Contribution Rate” 1.10%
“Taxable Wage Ceiling” (per employee per year)

The CAA Transparency Rules Will Let Plans and Participants Know.  The Department of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the IRS (collectively the Departments) recently released the Interim Final Rules with a request for Comment (IFC), Prescription Drug and Health Care Spending.  These rules implement Section 204, Title II, another phase of the transparency provisions

News Flash:  There’s no actual statutory mandate that employers offer group health coverage at all, much less coverage for specific conditions.  However, federal law requires health plans that provide mental health and substance use disorder coverage to ensure that the financial requirements (like coinsurance) and treatment limitations (like visit limits and provider access) applicable to

For years (and we do mean years), the EEOC has waffled about whether incentives were permissible in connection with a medical inquiry under a voluntary wellness program.  Friday, the EEOC issued its most recent pronouncement on the topic, this time related to incentives for COVID-19 vaccinations.

The ADA prohibits employers from requiring medical examinations or

In our most recent summary of IRS Notice 2021-31, we noted the Internal Revenue Service provided much-needed clarity to looming compliance challenges as employers, insurers, and others race to implement the applicable COBRA premium subsidy provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA).  While there are many other important clarifications made by

As some states make headlines for so-called “anti-trans” laws, the Washington state legislature rejected a bill designed to limit youth participation in sports based on their gender as assigned on a birth certificate and passed the new Gender Affirming Treatment Act.  This Act prohibits health insurers from denying or limiting coverage for gender affirming treatment

In much-anticipated guidance, the Internal Revenue Service has offered its insight on the implementation of the COBRA temporary premium subsidy provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) in Notice 2021-31.

Spanning more than 40 pages, the IRS-answered frequently asked questions (FAQs) finally resolve many issues relating to temporary premium assistance for

As the COVID-19 vaccine has become readily available, and many employers contemplate employees returning to the office to work, both employers and employees have accelerated demands for new and permanent remote work location arrangements for a variety of jobs. Employers across the country are revisiting their business strategies, employment policies, and related legal and tax

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) amended the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) to include substantial new compliance requirements. The Department of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services, and the Treasury (collectively, the Departments) have released much-anticipated guidance for group health plans necessitating action from plan sponsors.  More…