After a brief lull in activity, recent developments are likely to involve all three branches of government in addressing issues under the Affordable Care Act. The Legislature: It is often said that Congress rarely takes action until a crisis needs to be addressed. With the demise of this summer’s repeal and replace effort, initiatives to [&hellip… Continue Reading »
The U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury have issued a set of Frequently Asked Questions and Answers that, among other things, implement certain of the recommendations included in a report issued by the White House Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Parity Task Force. This guidance manifests the administration’s continuing [&hellip… Continue Reading »
In response to the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, Inc., the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Labor (DOL) published proposed rules on August 22, 2014, expanding the availability of the religious accommodation to the contraceptive mandate provided in their July 2013 final regulations to closely held [&hellip… Continue Reading »
On February 17, 2012, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a set of FAQs concerning the Essential Health Benefits Bulletin it issued on December 16, 2011. The FAQs offer new guidance and raise new questions about the scope of what is considered an essential health benefit (EHB) for purposes of applying [&hellip… Continue Reading »
Although the pace of new legislation affecting health and other welfare benefits has slowed after the first two years of the Obama Administration, plan sponsors will find no shortage of developments to monitor and implement in 2012. This alert provides a very brief review of recent developments and matters to watch in the new calendar [&hellip… Continue Reading »
