Insights

On April 19, 2022, the DOL issued Part 53 of a series of FAQs concerning the ACA. Specifically, the FAQs cover the requirement under the Transparency in Coverage Rule (the Rule) to provide certain disclosures in machine-readable files. The Departments of HHS, Treasury and Labor (the departments) promulgated the Rule on October 29, 2020. The Rule imposes new cost-sharing and pricing disclosure requirements upon group health plans and health insurers. Among other requirements, non-grandfathered g

On April 20, 2022, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held, in Garner v. Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Health and Welfare Fund Active Plan, that the trustees of the plan had abused their discretion by denying the plaintiff's spinal surgery claim based on two independent physicians' review. Dorothy Garner suffered from back and neck pain for several years. Upon being advised by her neurosurgeon, she performed postural exercises and used medication to manage the sympt

On April 13, 2022, the HHS renewed the COVID-19 pandemic Public Health Emergency (PHE) for an additional 90 days, effective April 16, 2022. With this extension, the PHE is now set to expire on July 15, 2022. The PHE is being extended for the ninth time since it was initially declared in January 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic began. The Biden Administration has said that it will give states a 60-day notice before the PHE expires. The PHE impacts several important benefits for employer spons

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently issued two reports to Congress regarding HIPAA compliance, breach notifications and enforcement actions for the calendar year 2020. Annually, HHS is required to submit HIPAA reports to Congress and post this information on the HHS website. The first report focuses on compliance with the HIPAA privacy and security requirements. According to the report, in 2020, HHS received 27,182 new complaints alleging HIPAA violations. The top five a

On March 25, 2022, the IRS released an information letter on qualified transportation plan rules, and Qualified Transportation Fringe (QTF) benefits, which are frequently going unused with recent increases in remote work. In general, employers may provide transportation benefits excludable from taxable income (up to indexed $280 per month in 2022) if the benefit satisfies the requirements of Code §132. This information letter specifically addressed whether unused QTF benefits may be transferr

On April 18, 2022, the IRS released a Listing of Required Modifications and Information Package (LRM) to provide practitioners with samples of plan provisions that satisfy IRC Section 403(b). Specifically, the LRM has been updated to reflect changes made in the IRS 2022 Cumulative List of Changes for §403(b) Pre-approved Plans. Plans being submitted for opinion letters for the second remedial amendment cycle under the IRS' §403(b) Pre-approved Plan Program must comply with the changes found o

On April 9, 2022, Maryland enacted its statutory Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program by the state legislature overriding Gov. Hogan's veto. The FAMLI program is also known as the 'Time to Care Act of 2022' (Senate Bill 275) and applies to employers who have at least one employee working in Maryland. The payroll withholding of the employees' contributions is scheduled to begin on October 1, 2023, and the benefits will be available to eligible employees starting January 1, 2025. B

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced recently that the state's public health emergency proclamation for COVID-19 would end effective April 1, 2022. Gov. Brown initially extended the current declaration of a public health emergency through June 30, 2022. However, due to the decline in the COVID-19 numbers, Gov. Brown declared the public health emergency would end on April 1, 2022, more than two years after it was first announced. The ending of Oregon's public health emergency also ended COVID-19 lea

After a two-year break, San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance employer reporting has resumed this year. Employers who are subject to the San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance (HCSO) or the Fair Chance Ordinance (FCO) must submit the 2021 Employer Annual Reporting Form by May 2, 2022. The HCSO applies to employers with 20 or more total employees worldwide and at least one employee who performs work within the city or county of San Francisco. The ordinance requires the employer to m