Benefits - General

Every six years, all preapproved defined contribution retirement plans (such as 401(k) plans) must be restated in new plan documents that have fresh approval from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The deadline to adopt the newest preapproved documents was July 31, 2022.

Friday, June 24, 2022, began with the United States Supreme Court’s publication of its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade . In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (19-1392), the Supreme Court held: “ The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the au

Friday, June 24, 2022, began with the United States Supreme Court’s publication of its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade . In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (19-1392), the Supreme Court held: “ The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the au

Executive Summary: Today’s Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization will have a significant impact on abortion procedures offered under employee benefits plans.

Summary: For Health Plans, Machine-Readable Files, containing in-network provider charges and out-of-network allowed amounts and billed charges, must be posted on a public website by July 1, 2022.

On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its highly anticipated decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization , No. 19-1392. The Dobbs decision expressly overrules the two key precedents that established and upheld a constitutional right to abortion and gives states

As predicted, the United States Supreme Court issued its final decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturning the landmark 1973 case Roe v. Wade , which held the U.S. Constitution protected the right of women to terminate a pregnancy prior to the date of viability. The June 24,

Employers and their benefit administrators have more detail and a more convenient way to submit “top 50” lists and other data—but no more time to comply with—daunting prescription drug cost reporting requirements in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA), under new interim final regulations

On November 10, 2021, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2021-45 , which contains its annual inflation adjustments for over 60 tax provisions, including not only individual income tax rates and deductions, but also many employer-provided benefits.

Holiday season and the end of the year are both quickly approaching, and with the turning of the calendar from 2021 to 2022 come several employee benefit plan amendment deadlines and implementation requirements. Some of these changes are optional for plan sponsors to adopt so now is a good time

The U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and U.S. Department of the Treasury recently issued regulatory guidance on the requirement that health plans cover pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) treatment—“a comprehensive intervention comprised of antiretroviral medicatio

New regulatory guidance from three federal agencies that enforce private-sector benefits laws will make employers’ daunting 2021 health benefit to-do lists slightly—but only slightly—more manageable heading into 2022. Most importantly, the frequently asked questions (FAQ) guidance delays several of

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) issued a new audit standard for employee benefit plans in July 2019. The new standard is commonly referred to as SAS 136, but its official name is “Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 136, Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financ

Participants in dependent care assistance programs (DCAPs) will get the best of both worlds (at least in 2021) under new guidance from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The Trump-era proclamation that would have kept immigrants who could not provide evidence of health insurance within 30 days of coming to the United States has been revoked by President Joe Biden . The move is in accordance with his prior executive order directed at “restoring faith” in the immigrat

The Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA), 2021 had far-reaching effects on employee benefit plans. One of the more onerous changes introduced by the CAA relates to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA). MHPAEA requires that group health plans offering mental health and

A federal court in New Jersey recently applied the arbitrary and capricious standard of review for a denial of benefits claim despite the enactment of an anti-discretionary statute in Minnesota, which governed the benefit plan policy. Hocheiser v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. , 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32154

Employers should not overlook the income tax reporting and withholding compliance issues when providing incentives, rewards, bonuses – whether for vaccination, holiday gifts, safety programs, attendance, and the like. The calculation of overtime pay could be impacted as well.

By: 9th Circuit Decision Requires Employers to Reevaluate Expense Reimbursement Procedures This week, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that an employer’s per diem expense reimbursement payments functioned as compensation for work rather than business expense reimbursements. As a result, the e