Insights

The WellCents^® Show hosts explore key financial topics, including turmoil in the stock market due to the upcoming election.

On June 21, 2024, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (Fifth Circuit) reversed the nationwide injunction imposed by a Texas federal district court that prohibited the federal government from enforcing the ACA’s preventive care mandate. However, the Fifth Circuit remanded the case back to the district court for further proceedings, so the fate of the mandate remains unresolved.  On September 7, 2022, the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a ruling in Braidwood Manage

On June 17, 2024, the IRS issued FAQs related to educational assistance programs under Section 127 of the IRC. Educational assistance programs are sponsored by employers and provide up to $5,250 in tax-free benefits to employees for certain qualified educational expenses. These expenses include items such as tuition, fees, books, supplies, equipment, etc. Principal or interest payments on qualified education loans made by the employer are also included if made after March 27, 2020, and before J

On June 20, 2024, the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas ruled that guidance issued by the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) on the use of third-party online tracking technologies by HIPAA-regulated entities, which include covered entities (such as healthcare providers) and business associates, was unlawful and that OCR overstepped its authority when it issued the guidance. The district court invalidated OCR’s guidance that individually identifiable health information (IIHI),

On June 20, 2024, the IRS issued Notice 2024-55, which provides guidance on two exceptions to the 10% tax under Code section 72(t)(2) on early retirement plan distributions that were included in the SECURE 2.0 Act. The two exceptions are for emergency personal expense distributions and domestic abuse victim distributions.  The Code defines an emergency personal expense distribution as any distribution made from an applicable eligible retirement plan to an individual for purposes of meeting

On June 24, 2024, the DOL released a report to Congress regarding Interpretive Bulletin 95-1 (the bulletin), which addresses ERISA fiduciary obligations of defined benefit (pension) plan sponsors when they select an annuity provider. The report was issued pursuant to Section 321 of the SECURE 2.0 Act, which directed the DOL to determine whether the bulletin’s guidance required amendment and to assess any risks to plan participants associated with an annuity provider selection.  Pension pla

As we reported in the May 24, 2022, edition of Compliance Corner, payroll withholding of employees’ contributions under Delaware Paid Leave (aka PFML) is scheduled to begin on January 1, 2025, and the benefits will be available to eligible employees starting January 1, 2026. Employers who are interested in electing a private plan option, as well as smaller employers who voluntarily want to opt into the Paid Leave program, can request to do so through the employer portal (“Delaware LaborFir

Gov. Reynolds recently signed several healthcare bills into law.  HB2668 requires health insurance policies issued, delivered, or renewed in Iowa to cover biomarker testing for some cancers and other diseases on or after January 1, 2025.  HF2489 requires that coverage for diagnostic or supplemental breast examinations be no less favorable than coverage providing for screening mammograms. Prior to this bill, participants would have to pay for these additional screenings subject to the

On March 8, 2024, the New Hampshire Insurance Department Commissioner issued Bulletin Docket No INS 24-016-AB to all health insurers. The bulletin recognizes that it is becoming more common for children (insureds 21 years of age and younger) with severe mental illness to receive care from community-based mental health organizations that are funded primarily through contracts with the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. These organizations often do not bill the children’s comm