The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations require updates to the Notice of Privacy Practices that health plan sponsors furnish to plan participants and health care providers furnish to patients. The updates must be made by February 16, 2026.
The regulations require changes to the Notice of Privacy Practices for information regarding certain substance use disorder treatment information and reproductive health information.… Continue Reading
As employers gear up for another round of Affordable Care Act (Forms 1094 and 1095) reporting, they should consider guidance that may have been issued too late in the last reporting cycle for them to take into account but could provide partial relief for this annual headache this time around. The guidance makes it permissible for employers to post a website notice of availability of Forms 1095-B and 1095-C (Notice of Availability or Notice) with respect to the ACA forms rather than distributing the forms to every individual.… Continue Reading
Although much of our attention this fall was focused on the government shutdown, health plan sponsors may be interested in several less-publicized developments affecting group health plans.
Retirees experiencing changes in post-employment benefits due to disability may not be able claim disability discrimination, following a recent fractured U.S. Supreme Court decision.
On Friday, June 20, 2025, the Supreme Court resolved a circuit split: whether a person who no longer holds or seeks a job with their former employer can sue that employer for alleged post-employment discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”).… Continue Reading
President Trump’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 includes substantial reductions to the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) budget and staff. The proposed discretionary budget is slashed from $13.5 billion to $9 billion, reducing it by one third. The number of employees is reduced by nearly 4,000 from 14,855 to 10,879—or a more than 25% cut. … Continue Reading
As class action attorneys continue to target wellness programs and tobacco user surcharges, plan sponsors must be mindful of the complex rules governing these common plan features. Ballard Spahr employee benefits attorneys Finn Pressly and Uchenna Osagiede will break down what employer-sponsored medical plans need to know about these programs and will provide practical steps to help ensure compliance.… Continue Reading
The current draft of the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 includes a proposed provision that would dramatically accelerate the deadline to file claims for the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) to January 31, 2024. The ERC is a much-scrutinized refundable tax credit of up to $26,000 per employee for certain wages paid by employers between March 12, 2020, and before October 1, 2021. … Continue Reading
By December 31, 2023, health plans and insurers must submit an attestation of compliance with the “anti-gag rules” of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA). The rules apply to all agreements entered into on or after the date that the CAA was enacted (December 27, 2020), and the first attestation applies retroactively to that date.… Continue Reading
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
As of January 1, 2023, all Colorado employers are required to post or otherwise provide employees with the state-issued FAMLI Program notice (available in English and Spanish) and also begin deducting employees’ shares of FAMLI Program premiums from employee paychecks, where applicable.
Under the FAMLI Program, eligible employees may receive up to up to $1,100 in weekly FAMLI Program benefits for eligible leave starting in 2024, and up to 90 percent of the state average weekly wage rate for eligible leave taken thereafter.… Continue Reading