Insights

School is back in session! Preparing for the new school year can be challenging as parents shop for new school clothes or supplies to ensure their children are ready for the year.

Utilization of biosimilars, which are biologic drugs that are highly similar to an already FDA-approved biologic product, will likely continue to increase in 2025.

Healthcare policy and politics are deeply intertwined, with government actions significantly influencing the financing, delivery and quality of healthcare.

On November 1, 2024, the IRS issued Notice 2024-80, which provides certain cost-of-living adjustments for a wide variety of tax-related items, including retirement plan contribution maximums and other limitations, effective January 1, 2025. Several key figures are highlighted below.  The elective deferral limit for employees who participate in 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans, and the federal government's Thrift Savings Plan increases from $23,000 to $23,500 in 2025. Additionally, the catch-

Recently, the IRS issued an Issue Snapshot addressing participant consequences when excess 401(k) deferrals are made. Elective deferrals include both pre-tax salary reduction contributions and any designated after-tax Roth contributions.  As a refresher, IRC Section 402(g) limits the amount of elective deferrals a participant may exclude from taxable income each year. Excess deferrals can cause a tax liability unless corrected. A participant can generally correct an excess deferral by dist

On September 28, 2024, Gov. Newson signed SB 1120, also known as the “Physicians Make Decisions Act,” into law. The new law requires that California health and disability insurers using artificial intelligence (AI), algorithms, or other similar software for utilization reviews or other utilization management functions may not supplant healthcare provider decision making for those functions.  While California insurers may still use these tools to supplement these functions, the new law mand

On October 28, 2024, the New Mexico Office of Superintendent of Insurance (OSI) issued a mental health and substance use disorder parity data call to all major medical health insurance carriers regulated by the OSI. Carriers are required to report data and analyses regarding their compliance with both federal and state parity laws for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2023, and offered through December 31, 2023. Reporting is due by noon on November 29, 2024, and should be submitted us

Senate Bill 622, signed into law by Gov. Abbott on May 29, 2023, requires all Texas health benefit plans delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, that cover prescription drugs to provide information regarding a covered prescription drug to an enrollee or the enrollee's prescribing provider on request. If a request is made through a standard application programming interface (API), the issuer must respond in real time. Issuers with fewer than 10,000 enrollees can a

In October, the Washington Employment Security Department announced that the 2025 WA PFML total premium rate will be 0.92% of wages up to the 2025 Social Security cap of $176,100. The new rate is an increase of the current rate of 0.74% and will become effective on January 1, 2025.  The total contribution of 0.92% is split between employers and employees, depending on the size of the employer. Employers with 50 or more employees working in the state of Washington will contribute up to 28.4