Edward I. Leeds

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A federal district court in Texas has invalidated and enjoined actions by federal agencies on and after March 23, 2010—when the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was enacted—to implement the ACA requirement that health plans and insurance policies cover the full cost of in-network preventive care that carries an A or B rating by the USPSTF.… Continue Reading

On January 30, 2023, the Biden Administration said that it will end COVID-19 emergency declarations on May 11, 2023.  The federal government has been paying for COVID-19 vaccines, some tests, and certain treatments under the public health emergency declaration. Many of those costs now will be transferred to private insurance and government health plans.… Continue Reading

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, (CAA) and transparency regulations introduced major changes to health benefit plans. These changes continue to evolve with some requirements just now taking effect.

The Upshot

  • Health plan sponsors need to comply with new requirements for reporting on prescription drug and other health care expenditures, although they have been given a very short reprieve.
… Continue Reading

In a new set of Frequently Asked Questions, the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury provide significant relief to health plan sponsors and insurers seeking to report on expenditures for prescription drugs and other health care items and services in compliance with the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021.… Continue Reading

Recently, Ballard Spahr attorneys spoke about the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the impact on employee benefit plans and other issues important to employers. The webinar addressed measures that employers can consider and implement in response to these developments and the legal and practical issues they present.

Below you’ll find a link to a recording of the webinar and presentation slides.… Continue Reading

Tuesday, July 26, 2022, 12:00 – 1:30 PM ET

The recent Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade and state laws banning abortion in the wake of the decision have raised significant employee benefit and other issues for employers. This webinar will address measures that employers are considering and implementing in response to these developments, and the legal and practical issues they present.… Continue Reading

As previously reported here, under the American Rescue Plan Act, certain employers have until May 31, 2021 to notify eligible individuals of their potential right to subsidized COBRA coverage. Eligible individuals are those who lost group health plan coverage due to a reduction of hours or an involuntary termination of employment and who are still within the possible maximum COBRA coverage period, even if they never elected COBRA or initially elected it and let it lapse.… Continue Reading

On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) was passed and signed into law.  ARP has significant and immediate impacts on employee benefit plans, employers, and other plan sponsors and plan administrators. On April 7, 2021, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) issued much anticipated guidance and model forms under the COBRA subsidy rules provided by ARP.… Continue Reading

As employers wrestle with whether to require vaccines for employees or how to encourage employees to get vaccinated voluntarily, many companies are implementing incentive programs that provide gifts, paid time off and even cash payments to employees who get vaccinated.  In doing so, employers need to consider whether their vaccine programs should be treated as employee wellness programs. … Continue Reading

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that it will issue much anticipated guidance that revises its nondiscrimination rules for wellness programs under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act.  The two sets of proposed regulations replace rules that the EEOC withdrew in 2018 after a federal district court invalidated key provisions on incentive limits on the grounds that the EEOC had not appropriately justified the limits that it set. … Continue Reading