Insights

On January 27, 2022, Gov. Inslee signed into law an 18-month delay of the effective date of the state's new long-term care (LTC) program, the Washington Cares Fund. The original effective date was January 1, 2022; the new effective date is July 1, 2023. This means that employers who have employees in the state of Washington do not need to start collecting the WA Cares Fund payroll tax of 0.58% of the employee's wages until July 1, 2023. (See the articles on the background of this subject in the

On January 1, 2022, Public Act No. 21-149, 'An Act Concerning Dental and Vision Insurance Coverage for Children, Stepchildren and Other Dependent Children,' took effect. This act requires certain health, dental and vision insurance policies to continue coverage for a child, stepchild or other dependent child until the policy anniversary date on or after the date the child turns age 26. Previously, health policies did not explicitly apply to stepchildren or other dependent children and allowed

The DOL, IRS and HHS recently released a process guide for certified independent dispute resolution (IDR) entities with detailed guidance on the various aspects of the Federal IDR process under the No Surprises Act (the Act) that took effect on January 1, 2022. The Act was enacted as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) passed by Congress in late 2020. Under the No Surprises Act, providers are prohibited from imposing balance bills for emergency services and air ambulance ser

On January 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States held that the District Court and Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals erred in dismissing the petitioner's case in Hughes v. Northwestern University. The Court rejected the notion that participants' having the authority to choose their investments excuses allegedly imprudent fiduciary decisions. The petitioners in this case were Northwestern University employees that participated in two defined contribution plans offered by the university

Please join us on Thursday, February 3 from 1-2:00 p.m. CT for our Practitioner Series Webinar 1: Mental Health Parity and Equity Act (MHPAEA) and Consolidated Appropriations. The webinar will include: Brief historical and compliance updates Compliance and Actuarial panel discussion regarding practical application and actions required of Plan Sponsors through a series of Question & Answers Internal and External resources to support offices Speakers: Chase Cannon - Compliance Elizabe

When you take time to understand the trends and what's happening in a particular market, you enhance your ability to prepare, adjust and make better decisions about protecting your business. Facilitating a better understanding of P&C claims activity and recent trends helps our teams and yours better navigate a very dynamic coverage landscape. Amidst an ever-changing market, and ongoing pandemic, and the inherently challenging world of exposures and risk, expert partners focused on your indu

During Supporting Your People’s Financial Well-Being with Strategic Retirement Benefits, First Person and NFP benefits experts dive into how you can take full advantage of your programs and support your people.

In this webinar, we discuss the ACA employer mandate and its rules on administering offers of coverage when a change in employment status occurs. The presentation begins by explaining the general rules that dictate when an employer must maintain an offer of coverage. We will then identify the situations in which an offer of coverage may be impacted by a change in employment status, providing examples for practical application. By the end of the presentation, you will better understand the emplo

On January 10, 2022, the Department of Insurance (DOI) issued an advisory to encourage insurers that offer health benefit plans to state residents to take certain immediate measures related to the COVID-19 variant surge. Specifically, the advisory asks insurers to review current policy provisions regarding the delivery of healthcare services via telehealth to ensure their telehealth programs with participating providers will be able to meet any increased demand. Similarly, insurers are request