HHS announces ACA maximum out-of-pocket limit for 2022; allows for marketplace enrollment when COBRA subsidy ends
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced the inflation-adjusted maximum out-of-pocket (OOP) limits that will apply to non-grandfathered plans for plan years beginning in 2022. The OOP limit includes the plan’s deductible and cost sharing...
Say it isn’t so! Does FMLA apply when an asymptomatic employee tests positive for COVID-19 but cannot work from home?
In a pending Pennsylvania case (Payne v. Woods Services, Inc.), the trial court hints that the FMLA may apply in the case of an employee who is asymptomatic but tests positive for COVID-19 and is unable to telework. While the case survived a motion to dismiss, the...
Mental Health Parity Rules Include Eating Disorders as Mental Health Conditions
The three federal agencies responsible for enforcing mental health parity rules recently issued additional guidance clarifying that eating disorders are mental health conditions -- making health insurance benefits for eating disorders subject to the parity...
Texas Eases Telemedicine Rule
Over the weekend, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill modifying the state’s current regulatory structure regarding telemedicine. Telemedicine is a fast-growing trend in the group health plan world. A telemedicine feature allows covered employees and dependents to...
Update: Appellate Court Nixes Class Action Suit for Supplemental Life Pricing
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (CT, NY, VT) has affirmed a district court’s dismissal of a class action lawsuit that alleged a group-term life insurance “cross subsidization and kickback scheme” was a violation of the insurer’s and the employer’s...
Federal Court Extends Title VII Protections to Sexual Orientation: Implications for Same-Sex Spouse Coverage, Domestic Partners, and Transgender Rights
A federal appeals court has ruled that the federal prohibition on employment discrimination based on an employee’s sex extends to discrimination based on sexual orientation. The ruling has implications beyond hiring, firing and compensation. It will also affect how...
Top 10 Insights for Implementation
Implementation usually begins in the summer, but NOW is the time to be thinking about potential vendors for your HR technology solutions. To ensure you are on the right track, we have searched our archives and compiled the top 10 insights for implementation oversight....
The Truth About the Preserving Employee Wellness Plans Act
Numerous articles have reported that a recent bill passed by the House Education and Workforce Committee – the Preserving Employee Wellness Plans Act (H.R. 1313) – would allow employers to obtain genetic information about their employees which had not previously been...
New Law in DC Adds to Leave Law Puzzle
The regulatory environment related to managing employee leave is becoming more like a giant hairball with each passing year, thanks to the trend of states, counties, cities and even the federal government enacting their own laws with detailed and differing...
Is Mandatory E-Verify the Future?
As new legislation rolls out from President Donald Trump’s administration, HR professionals are tasked with the responsibility of remaining compliant, adjusting recruitment strategies, and much more. One topic of discussion has been the use of E-Verify to manage...
Congress’s Health Insurance “Tax Equity” Threatens a Nasty Tax Hit for Employees…if Not Right Away, Certainly Later
Isobel Crawley: “What else could we drink to? We're going forward into the future, not back into the past." Dowager Countess: "If only we had the choice." -- The last lines spoken in the hit series, Downton Abbey The most provocative theme...
Department of Labor Issues Updated Medicaid/CHIP Notice
The Department of Labor (DOL) released a new model notice regarding premium assistance under Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The prior model notice expired October 31, 2016. Employers providing coverage in states offering premium assistance...
The Picture of Health
As I trolled LinkedIn this morning, I came across a few articles discussing the future of genotype and phenotype data. If you are like me, those terms require clarification. According to Personal Genetics Education Project: Your genotype is your complete heritable...
Department of Labor Announces 2017 Increased Penalty Amounts
The Department of Labor (DOL) recently finalized regulations containing civil penalty inflation adjustments for 2017. This past summer, the DOL announced substantial increases in civil penalty amounts for certain ERISA violations in accordance with the Federal Civil...