In December 2024, Congress and President Biden passed two laws—the Paperwork Burden Reduction Act (PBRA) and the Employer Reporting Improvement Act (ERIA)—that made important changes to employers’ responsibilities regarding furnishing information to employees under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) information reporting provisions as well as the response deadlines and the statute of limitations for the employer shared responsibility penalty assessments.Continue Reading 2025 Changes to ACA Employer Information Reporting Obligations and the Employer Shared Responsibility Penalties
Employee Benefits
BREAKING: DOL Expands the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program
Earlier today, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published in the Federal Register an updated version of the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP) under Title I of ERISA. Per the DOL, VFCP “is designed to encourage correction of fiduciary breaches and compliance with law by permitted persons to avoid potential [DOL] civil enforcement actions and civil penalties if they voluntarily correct” errors in accordance with the program. Notably, the update expands the current VFCP by adding a much-anticipated self-correction component for delinquent transmittal of participant contributions and loan repayments to retirement plans in specific circumstances. Continue Reading BREAKING: DOL Expands the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program
Status of PBM Regulation in the States
I recently authored an article for BenefitsPRO examining the status of pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) regulation in the states. While benefits professionals have seen the cost of prescription drugs rise, there is a lack of consensus as to what exactly is causing the increase. As PBMs serve as the intermediary between prescription drug manufacturers and insurance or benefit providers to help providers save on prescription drugs, PBMs have found themselves under increased scrutiny and the target of litigation and heightened regulation.Continue Reading Status of PBM Regulation in the States
2024 ERISA Welfare Plan Automatic Participant Disclosures Checklist
We recognize that many companies sponsor ERISA welfare benefit plans and will soon be undergoing their open enrollment process and issuing related participant communications. To assist with that process, we have prepared an Automatic Participant Disclosures Checklist for use during open enrollment and throughout the plan year. Note that some of these disclosures may be…
Compliance Deadlines for New Section 1557 Nondiscrimination Rules Approaching, Includes Application to Medicare Part B Recipients
In April 2024, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) finalized revised regulations implementing Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). The new, final Section 1557 regulations (2024 Rule) have staggered effective dates—beginning as early as November 2, 2024—and the 2024 Rule now applies to recipients of Medicare Part…
Hot Issues for Second Half of 2024
In an article for HR.com’s Employee Benefits & Wellness Excellence issue, we highlighted key issues to watch in benefits law for the remainder of 2024. Among the top three of these considerations for the rest of the year, we listed retirement plan regulations from SECURE 2.0, litigation surrounding pharmacy benefit managers (PBM), and welfare plan compensation disclosures and associated litigation.Continue Reading Hot Issues for Second Half of 2024
Chevron No More: The Impact on Benefit Plans
On June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce and Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce (Loper Bright), overturning Chevron U.S.A. Inc v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. (Chevron). In this landmark case, Loper Bright overruled the forty-year doctrine known as “Chevron deference,” whereby courts defer to an administrative agency’s reasonable interpretation of ambiguous federal laws, even if the court disagrees with the agency’s interpretation. Instead, Loper Bright held that courts must exercise independent judgment in deciding whether an administrative agency has acted within its statutory authority, and may not automatically defer to an agency’s legal interpretation when a statute is ambiguous.Continue Reading Chevron No More: The Impact on Benefit Plans
New Reproductive Health Care Privacy Final Rule: Key Compliance Steps and Dates
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and subsequent state abortion bans, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a Final Rule (Final Rule) modifying the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule in order to support reproductive health care privacy. As with prior HIPAA rules, the Final Rule applies to covered healthcare providers, health plans, or healthcare clearing houses (each, a Covered Entity) and their business associates.Continue Reading New Reproductive Health Care Privacy Final Rule: Key Compliance Steps and Dates
Gender-Affirming Care Remains a Hot Topic in 2024
Our April 9 blog post highlighted several issues to watch during 2024, one of which was gender-affirming care considerations.Continue Reading Gender-Affirming Care Remains a Hot Topic in 2024
BREAKING: DOL Expands Definition of Fiduciary under ERISA
The U.S. Department of Labor issued final regulations on April 23, expanding the definition of “fiduciary” under ERISA. The final regulations alter the definition of “investment advice fiduciary” for purposes of Title I and Title II of ERISA to impose fiduciary duties on individuals or entities that make compensated recommendations related to the use of retirement assets to participants, beneficiaries and owners of qualified retirement plans and IRAs.Continue Reading BREAKING: DOL Expands Definition of Fiduciary under ERISA