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Employee Benefits Counsel Legal Insights into the Developments that Impact the Employee Benefits Community

Category Archives: Benefits & Wellness

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New Survey Confirms Most Employers Plan to Keep Offering Health Benefits

By Ilyse Schuman The vast majority of employers intend to continue providing health coverage once many of the more controversial Affordable Care Act (ACA) provisions take effect in 2014, according to a recent post-election survey (pdf) conducted by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP). The organization administered the survey of 593 benefit plan… Continue Reading

Posted in Benefits & Wellness, Healthcare Reform

Agencies Release Proposed Rules on Wellness Programs, Essential Health Benefits, and Health Insurance Market Reforms

By Ilyse Schuman Now that the 2012 elections are over, federal agencies are finally releasing long-awaited healthcare rules. On Tuesday, the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury Department issued three proposed rules crucial to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The proposals… Continue Reading

Posted in Agency Rulemaking, Benefits & Wellness, Healthcare Reform

Eleventh Circuit Turns Back ADA Challenge to Employer Wellness Program

An Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals panel recently held that a governmental employer’s wellness program, established as part of its insured group health plan, did not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) because the program was exempt by virtue of the ADA’s “bona fide plan” exception. To learn more about the decision and its… Continue Reading

Posted in Benefits & Wellness, Wellness Initiatives

New Massachusetts Law Provides Employer Tax Incentives for Creating Wellness Programs

By Robert O’Brien Massachusetts recently enacted legislation that will give employers an annual tax credit of up to $10,000 for instituting wellness programs for their employees. The wellness program tax credit is part of a larger bill entitled “An Act Improving the Quality of Health Care and Reducing Costs through increased Transparency, Efficiency and Innovation”… Continue Reading

Posted in Benefits & Wellness, State Activity, Wellness Initiatives

Survey finds that Most Employers Will Not Drop Health Insurance Care Coverage as a Result of the Affordable Care Act

By Ilyse Schuman According to a recent survey conducted by financial consulting firm Deloitte, the majority of employers will not abandon their provision of health insurance coverage within the next three years. Many of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) provisions – including the requirement that most large employers provide their full-time employees with “minimal essential”… Continue Reading

Posted in Benefits & Wellness, Healthcare Reform

DOL Issues Guidance on Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act

By Ilyse Schuman The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has issued a new set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA). This law generally requires private group health benefit plans that provide mental health and/or substance use… Continue Reading

Posted in Benefits & Wellness, Health and Welfare Plans

IRS and HHS Release Guidance for Determining What Constitutes “Minimum Value” for Employer-Sponsored Health Plans and Health Coverage Reporting and Verification Requirements

By Ilyse Schuman The Internal Revenue Service has issued three new guidance documents related to certain requirements the Affordable Care Act imposes on employer-provided health plans. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also issued a bulletin regarding verification of access to employer-sponsored coverage. IRS Notice 2012-31 The first guidance document, Notice 2012-31, (pdf) suggests various possible… Continue Reading

Posted in Benefits & Wellness, Health and Welfare Plans, Healthcare Reform

Survey Analyzes Employer Tactics, Trends for Managing Rising Health Care Costs

By Ilyse Schuman According to the findings of a new employer health care survey conducted by Towers Watson/National Business Group, most large employers will continue to offer health care benefits once the health insurance exchanges are in place in 2014, but are less confident that they will do so a decade from now. The survey… Continue Reading

Posted in Benefits & Wellness, Healthcare Reform

Agencies Issue Final Rule on Contraceptive Coverage

By Ilyse Schuman The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Internal Revenue Service have issued a final rule that adopts without change interim final regulations that exempt group health plans and group health insurance coverage sponsored by certain religious employers from having to cover certain preventive health services under provisions of the… Continue Reading

Posted in Agency Rulemaking, Benefits & Wellness, Healthcare Reform

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) Issues MHPAEA Survey Report

By Adam J. Peters The U.S. GAO has issued a November 2011 report summarizing study results on employers affected by the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Act of 2008 (the MHPAEA).  The report analyzes trends in health insurance coverage based on information gathered from direct responses by a random sample… Continue Reading

Posted in Benefits & Wellness, Benefits Counseling

Reports Provide Insight into Employer-Provided Healthcare Costs, Efforts to Stem Expenses

By Ilyse Schuman Two recently-released healthcare studies indicate that the rise in employer-provided healthcare coverage costs is part of a long-term trend, and that employers are taking affirmative steps to counter this escalation. The first survey, conducted by the Mercer consulting firm, suggests that while healthcare costs have increased over the years, the pace of… Continue Reading

Posted in Benefits & Wellness, Health and Welfare Plans, Healthcare Reform

Agencies Delay SBC Application Date, Issue New Guidance on MHPAEA

By Ilyse Schuman The Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services (HHS) have issued a new set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) announcing the delay of the Affordable Care Act’s summary of benefits and coverage (SBC) requirements for insurers and health plans, and providing guidance on the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental… Continue Reading

Posted in Benefits & Wellness, Health and Welfare Plans, Healthcare Reform

Federal Funds for Workplace Wellness Programs

By Russell D. Chapman The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced the availability of $10 million to advance workplace wellness programs for employers.  Initiated by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the funds will be awarded through a competitive contract to an organization with expertise in working with both small and large… Continue Reading

Posted in Benefits & Wellness

Bill Would Extend COBRA Benefits to Same-Sex Spouses, Domestic Partners and Their Dependents

Last week Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) reintroduced the Equal Access to COBRA Act of 2011 (H.R. 2310), legislation cosponsored by 47 others that would extend COBRA continuation health coverage to covered employees’ same-sex spouses or domestic partners and their dependent children. Under existing law, up to 36 months of continuing health care coverage under COBRA… Continue Reading

Posted in Benefits & Wellness

Proposed Legislation to Provide Tax Relief for Domestic Partner Health Coverage

By Russell D. Chapman In early June, a bipartisan group of House members led by Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA) introduced the Tax Parity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act of 2011 (H.R. 2088), which would extend the income tax exemption for employer-provided health care benefits to domestic partners and other non-spouse dependents of covered employees.  According… Continue Reading

Posted in Benefits & Wellness

Wellness Program Survives Class Action Challenge

By Russell D. Chapman In Seff v. Broward County, a closely-watched class action case, a U.S. district judge in Florida recently dismissed a challenge to a “participation only” wellness program under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  In 2009, Broward County implemented a wellness program, administered confidentially by an outside wellness consultant, in an effort to… Continue Reading

Posted in Benefits & Wellness

Lessons Galore from Eye-Popping $4.3 Million HIPAA Penalty

For the nearly eight years since the HIPAA Privacy Rule went into effect in April 2003, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) did not impose a single civil monetary penalty for HIPAA violations. The story behind HHS’s first penalty — a whopping $4.3 million imposed on February 22, 2011, against Cignet Health… Continue Reading

Posted in Benefits & Wellness

Painkiller Abuse: A Prescription for Employers

Substance abuse is a problem that plagues all workplaces.  The abuse of controlled substance painkillers and other prescription medications has spread so widely that such drugs are now considered the second most commonly abused drug after marijuana.  Healthcare organizations are particularly vulnerable to workers who abuse controlled substances, as employees may have access to drugs that… Continue Reading

Posted in Benefits & Wellness

Tax Break: IRS Allows Breast Pumps As Deductible Medical Expense

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently reversed course and announced that breast pumps and other lactation supplies will now be considered a tax-deductible medical expense.  This will allow employees to use money stored in their Flexible Spending Account (FSA) to purchase breast pumps on a pre-tax basis without the hassle of a prescription. The ruling, issued… Continue Reading

Posted in Benefits & Wellness

Legislating Wellness: Proposed Bills to Support Workplace Wellness Programs

As many legislative sessions kick off around the country, interest remains high among lawmakers to encourage businesses to institute wellness programs as a means of tackling increasing health care costs and improving the health of Americans.  According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), bills supporting wellness initiatives have been increasingly popular in the… Continue Reading

Posted in Benefits & Wellness

New Class Action Wave Against Wellness Programs?

This week, the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Florida certified a plaintiff class in a case involving an employer’s wellness program. In Bradley Seff v. Broward County, the County of Broward, Florida (“Broward”) was sued by an employee seeking declaratory, injunctive and equitable relief, compensatory damages, costs and attorney’s fees, claiming that… Continue Reading

Posted in Benefits & Wellness

Employer Bans on Smokers: The Next Smokeout?

While the upcoming Great American Smokeout encourages smokers to use November 18th as a day to quit smoking or make a plan to quit, employers can use the occasion as an opportunity to review whether they want to implement tobacco-free policies and the potential legal issues involved in doing so.  In recent years, many employers… Continue Reading

Posted in Benefits & Wellness

EEOC Issues Final GINA Regulations

Nearly a year after the employment provisions of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) took effect, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued a final rule (pdf) implementing these sections. Title II of GINA – which took effect on November 21, 2009 – prohibits the use of genetic information in making employment decisions, restricts… Continue Reading

Posted in Benefits & Wellness