Insights

On September 16, 2022, the DOL published an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) on a proposed amendment to the qualified professional asset manager (QPAM) class prohibited transaction exemption, PTE 84-14. This exemption permits an investment fund managed by a QPAM to engage in certain party-in-interest transactions that would otherwise be prohibited by ERISA and the Code. As previously reported in Compliance Corner, the DOL recently proposed to amend several aspects of the QPAM

On September 23, 2022, the Office of Insurance Regulation issued a notice following Executive Order #22-218, in which Gov. DeSantis declared a state of emergency in 24 counties in the potential path of Hurricane Ian. The notice is directed at all health insurers, health maintenance organizations and other health entities authorized to do business in Florida. As background, Florida statutes permit early prescription refills if the governor issues an executive order declaring a state of emergenc

On August 15, 2022, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held in Roberts v. Gestamp West Virginia, LLC, that a jury must decide whether an employee's Facebook message to his supervisor satisfied the notice requirements under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The employee underwent emergency surgery in 2019 and sent his supervisor a Facebook message indicating he would miss two weeks of work due to the surgery. The employee and his supervisor communicated via Facebook during hi

On September 23, 2022, Superintendent Toal released Bulletin No. 2022-017. The bulletin informs all health insurance plans regulated by the state that on August 4, 2022, HHS declared the monkeypox virus outbreak a national public health emergency. State law prohibits cost-sharing requirements related to testing or delivery of healthcare for any condition that is the subject of a declared public health emergency. Accordingly, the bulletin announces that no individuals shall be charged cost-shari

On September 6, 2022, the Department of Insurance issued Bulletin No. 2022-10 to announce the indexed increase in the annual maximum benefit for behavioral therapy coverage. The bulletin was directed at HMOs and carriers writing insurance in the state. State law requires that an annual adjustment of the maximum benefit for behavioral therapy coverage be made to reflect any change from the previous year in the Consumer Price Index. Accordingly, the department determined that the maximum benefit

There are specific rules related to eligibility and changes of status related to the employer mandate. A change in status means that the employee has had a bona fide change in employment status from part-time (PT) or variable hour to full-time (FT) or vice versa. It does not include an employee who has not experienced a bona fide change in employment and whose hours are simply trending lower or higher. As a reminder, an applicable large employer subject to the employer mandate has two methods

On September 6, 2022, the DOL published an updated Interpretive Bulletin (the updated IB) setting forth guidelines for determining when a qualified public accountant is independent for purposes of auditing and providing an opinion on the financial statements required to be included in the Form 5500 filing for an ERISA employee benefit plan. According to the DOL, a primary purpose of the updated IB was to remove outdated and unnecessarily restrictive provisions from prior guidance, Interpretive

On August 26, 2022, in Georgia v. Biden, the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled the December 7, 2021, nationwide preliminary injunction issued by the US District Court for the Southern District of Georgia against President Biden's federal contractor vaccine mandate was overly broad in its jurisdictional reach. A preliminary injunction is a court order stopping a party from continuing the challenged action before the case can be fully briefed and decided. To succeed at the prelim

On August 26, 2022, in Franciscan Alliance, Inc., et al v. Becerra, et al, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld a federal district court injunction against HHS that stopped the agency from interpreting and enforcing Section 1557 of the ACA in a way that would require a Catholic hospital system and other religious institutions to provide coverage for (or to perform) gender-reassignment surgeries or abortions in violation of its sincerely held religious beliefs. Section 1557 prohi