by Jay Kirschbaum | May 28, 2020 | Benefits Communication, Compliance Services, ERISA, Reporting and Disclosure
Employers have struggled for years with how to comply with the ERISA mandates requiring “effective” communications of plan terms but wishing to communicate those messages electronically. While those goals are not necessarily mutually exclusive, the U.S. Department of...
by Ethan McWilliams and Suzanne Bach | May 6, 2020 | ERISA, The Coronavirus
In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, welfare benefits insurers have realized something of a windfall. They’ve collected premiums for several weeks during which time, due to shelter-in-place orders, employees and their dependents have canceled medical, dental and...
by Jay Kirschbaum | April 26, 2020 | ERISA, The Coronavirus
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, state insurance departments have issued directives prohibiting insurers from canceling certain kinds of policies due to the nonpayment of premiums, requiring the insurer to provide a grace period before canceling, or strongly...
by Rory Akers, JD | January 22, 2020 | Compliance Services, DOL, ERISA
The Department of Labor (DOL) recently finalized regulations containing civil penalty inflation adjustments for 2020 in accordance with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015 (the “Act”). The Act requires the DOL publish annual inflation...
by Jay Kirschbaum | December 4, 2019 | Benefits Administration, Compliance Services, ERISA
Cross-plan offsetting is a common practice among insurance carriers and third-party administrators (TPAs) that can put employers at risk. Briefly, cross-plan offsetting occurs where the insurer or TPA overpays a healthcare provider on a claim submitted to Plan A....
by Rory Akers, JD | January 28, 2019 | DOL, ERISA
The Department of Labor (DOL) recently finalized regulations containing civil penalty inflation adjustments for 2019 in accordance with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015 (the “Act”). The Act requires the DOL publish annual inflation...
