Insights

On June 21, 2022, in Smith v. CommonSpirit Health, et. al, the Sixth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of ERISA imprudent investment claims against a 401(k)-plan sponsor. In the opinion, the Sixth Circuit emphasized that ERISA does not give federal courts broad authority to second-guess retirement plan investment decisions. Rather, the allegations must infer an ERISA fiduciary breach. In this case, plaintiff Yosaun Smith was a 401(k) participant who brought a putative class action

On June 21, 2022, the Department of Workforce Solutions issued final regulations for the state's Healthy Workplaces Act (Act), effective on July 1, 2022. The department also released a series of FAQs. The Act was discussed in the March 30, 2021 edition of Compliance Corner. Employees covered by the law (including temporary and seasonal workers) can accrue one hour of leave for every 30 hours worked (the FAQs point out that these are hours actually worked, so vacation time does not count), which

On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. The Dobbs case involves a Mississippi law that would effectively ban most abortions in the state after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Although the law made exceptions for medical emergencies, it did not make exceptions for rape or incest. The lower courts found that the law was inconsistent with both Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey and kept the state from enforcing it. The state appealed

On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. The Dobbs case involves a Mississippi law that would effectively ban most abortions in the state after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The Court upheld that law, overturning both Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey in the process. The decision also returned the right to legislate abortions to the states. Several states have already deemed abortion illegal under state law and several more are l

New transparency requirements include a mandate that health plans and health insurance issuers must disclose, on a public website, information regarding in-network rates and out-of-network allowed amounts and billed charges for covered items and services in two separate machine-readable files (MRFs). The regulations define MRFs as files presented in a digital format that can be imported or read by a computer system for further processing without human intervention, while ensuring no semantic m

On June 13, 2022, the Bloomington City Council adopted Ordinance 2022-31. Bloomington's ordinance requires employers to provide certain amounts of sick and safe leave to employees working at least 80 hours per year in the city. Specifically, the law requires private employers with at least five employees to provide employees with one hour of paid leave for every 30 hours on the job, for up to 48 leave hours a year. Smaller employers are required to provide the same amounts of unpaid leave. The

On June 9, 2022, Commissioner Brown issued Bulletin B-0004-22 in response to Gov. Abbott's disaster declaration concerning the Uvalde shooting. In order to ensure the fair and compassionate treatment of consumers in Uvalde County and to provide for fair competition, the commissioner encourages all health-benefit plans to: Provide coverage and reimbursement for covered mental health services that are delivered by a preferred or contracted health professional using telecommunications or inform

On May 29, 2022, HB 970 was enacted. Effective January 1, 2023, the new statute prohibits health insurers from imposing a prior authorization requirement for prescription drugs used as post-exposure prophylaxis for the prevention of HIV, if the drug is prescribed in accordance with CDC guidelines. This prohibition will apply to group health insurance policies issued in the state and which provide coverage for prescription drugs. Employer plan sponsors should verify with their ins

On May 16, 2022, Gov. Hogan signed HB 1397 into law. Effective for policies issued on or after January 1, 2023, the new law prohibits insurers from imposing a copayment or coinsurance greater than $30 for a 30-day supply of insulin drugs or $150 for a 30-day supply of a prescription drug to treat diabetes, HIV or AIDS. The requirements apply to group health insurance policies issued in the state and which provide coverage for prescription drugs. Employer plan sponsors should verify with their i