Insights

HHS has published a final rule expanding protections under Section 1557 of the ACA, which prohibits discrimination in certain health programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in any health program activity that receives federal financial assistance and other covered entities. The Section 1557 regulations that took effect in 2016 under the Obama administration expanded the scope of Section 1557 prohibitions by including discrimination based upo

On April 23, 2024, the DOL released the final Retirement Security Rule (the 2024 final rule) defining who is an investment advice fiduciary for purposes of ERISA and the Code. The DOL also issued final amendments to class prohibited transaction exemptions (PTEs) available to investment advice fiduciaries. The 2024 final rule follows and largely resembles a proposed rule issued on November 7, 2023. Please see our November 7, 2023, edition of Compliance Corner regarding the proposed rule. The 202

On April 25, 2024, Gov. Moore approved SB0485/HB0571 modification bills, which delay implementation of Maryland’s family and medical leave insurance (FAMLI) program, sometimes referred to as Time to Care Act of 2022. Implementation has faced several delays and modifications since inception, most recently as reported in our May 9, 2023, edition of Compliance Corner. Most notably, contributions will now begin July 1, 2025 (previously October 1, 2024). Benefits will now be available to eligible em

Not necessarily. However, as with most things related to Form 5500 reporting, ultimate decision-making authority in this regard will rest with the plan administrator. The Form 5500 filing requirement for health and welfare plans subject to ERISA is straightforward: all such plans with 100 or more plan participants on the first day of the plan year must file Form 5500 for that plan year, including all applicable insurance information on Schedule A. Schedule A reporting can be a challenge for pla

On April 11, 2024, in Ryan S. v UnitedHealth Group, Inc., et al., the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (Ninth Circuit) filed a decision reversing a Middle District of California District Court dismissal of a class action suit brought under ERISA by a beneficiary (Ryan S.) of a group health plan insured, managed, and administered by UnitedHealthcare (UHC). The lawsuit, which alleged a MHPAEA violation and breach of an ERISA fiduciary duty, was remanded for further proceedings. Between 2017 and 201

On April 13, 2024, the IRS released a set of FAQs concerning the tax treatment of work-life referral (WLR) services that employers may provide to employees. The FAQs establish that WLR services are a de minimis fringe benefit excluded from an employee’s gross income and from the employer’s employment taxes. The FAQs define WLR services as “informational and referral consultations that assist employees with identifying, contacting, and negotiating with life-management resources for solutions to

On April 16, 2024, the DOL issued a request for public comment on its proposal to create a database to allow individuals to locate former retirement plan information. This searchable database would help implement the requirement under the SECURE 2.0 Act to more easily allow individuals to obtain plan administrator contact information. Prior DOL initiatives under the existing Terminated Vested Participants Project (TVPP) for defined benefit pension plans indicate retirement plan administrators o

In response to a request by Congress, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a report focusing on state regulation of PBMs serving private health plans. Among other things, the report describes actions selected states have taken to regulate PBMs and the views of various stakeholders regarding such state regulation. As cited in the report, retail prescription drug spending by private health plans in the US totaled nearly $152 billion in 2021 — almost 13% of total private he

The IRS recently issued Notice 2024-35, which updates and extends the transition relief provided in Notice 2023-54, which addressed changes made by the SECURE Act and the SECURE 2.0 Act in required minimum distribution (RMD) requirements for qualified plans such as 401(k) plans, IRAs, Roth IRAs, 403(b) plans, and 457(d) eligible deferred compensation plans. (For further information on prior Notice 2023-54, please see our August 1, 2023, Compliance Corner article.) The SECURE Act originally incr