The American Heath Care Act was designed to provide health care reform and to replace former President Obama’s Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”). However, the House of Representatives, under President Trump’s direction, cancelled its vote in late March because of lack of overall support from Republicans to get passage of the bill in the House. Now what?
Articles about the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and other issues relating to employee benefit topics
DEATH OF THE SUBSTANTIAL COMPLIANCE DOCTRINE?
In Halo v. Yale Health Plan, decided in April of 2016, the Second Circuit expressly rejected the “substantial compliance” doctrine with respect to alleged violations of the ERISA Claims Procedure regulation.
SUPREME COURT HEARS “CHURCH PLAN” ERISA CLASS ACTION CASES
On Monday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in the consolidated “church plan” cases, Advocate Health Care Network v. Stapleton, St. Peter’s Healthcare System v. Kaplan, and Dignity Health v. Rollins.
DISGORGEMENT CLAIMS CONTINUE TO CONFOUND COURTS IN ERISA CLASS ACTIONS
Courts continue to be split over the availability of disgorgement and “accounting for profits” in ERISA class actions involving in-house investment plans. On March 3, 2017, in Brotherston v. Putnam Investments, LLC, No. 1:15-cv-13825-WGY (D. Mass. March 3, 2017), the court declined to resolve the dispute at the summary judgment stage, allowing the certified class of employees to move forward with their claim that the company should be forced to disgorge profits earned from defendant’s in-house 401k plan. Previously, the court denied defendant’s motion to dismiss this claim.
WPI Insider Briefing: Spotlight on Health Care and Regulatory Reform Under the Trump Administration
On February 28, 2017, President Trump delivered his first address to a joint session of Congress, outlining a broad vision of his agenda. The Trump administration is widely expected to chart a dramatically different course on workplace policy from that of the prior administration. Coming less than six weeks after President Trump was sworn into office, the address offered few details on how his administration’s labor and employment policy will unfold.
Introducing the American Health Care Act! Wait! … Not so fast!
The House Ways and Means Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee (the two congressional committees having primary responsibility for health care legislation) released draft legislation for repealing and replacing aspects of the Obama administration’s 2010 health care reform law on March 6, 2017 (the “ACA”).
IRS to Process Tax Returns That Lack Certification of ACA-Required Coverage
In the wake of the President’s January 20, 2017 Executive Order directing a reduction in regulatory burdens imposed by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the IRS has quietly announced that it will continue to process income tax returns lacking confirmation that the taxpayer has maintained ACA-required health coverage.
Health Savings Accounts Considerations for Employers
The health savings account (“HSA”) has become, since its creation in 2003, an increasingly popular option for employers to subsidize employee group health costs. Employees with HSAs can save money, on a tax-free basis, for medical expenses that aren’t otherwise covered. The account’s interest earnings and distributions (for qualified medical expenses) are also tax-free.
Change on the Horizon for Decades-Old Home Health Agency Conditions of Participation
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued final regulations (CMS-3819-F) that will make substantial changes to the Medicare home health agency Conditions of Participation (CoPs). These sweeping changes take effect July 13, 2017, and represent the most comprehensive changes to the CoPs since 1989.
HHS Expresses Interest in Pre-Existing Condition Exclusions
In proposed regulations published on February 17, 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has suggested several adjustments designed to help stabilize the individual health insurance market – particularly for coverage offered through the health insurance exchanges, often referred to as “Marketplaces.”
ACA Replacement Bills Encounter Beltway Traffic
Since its enactment in 2010, Republicans in Congress have made numerous attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), with little success beyond modest tweaks that garnered bipartisan support (such as delaying the “Cadillac Tax”). With Republicans in control of both houses of Congress and the White House, comprehensive changes are a given, though the substance and timing of the changes remain open questions.
Multiemployer Pension Plans: Section 1405 – Limitation on Withdrawal Liability
Executive Summary: In a recent decision involving a withdrawal liability assessment by a multiemployer pension plan, an arbitrator reduced the assessment by approximately 50 percent and ruled in favor of the employer on several significant legal issues.
Church Plan Cases: Federal Agencies Finally Speak
As many of you know, currently pending before the Supreme Court are consolidated cases from the Third, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits holding that, for religiously affiliated employers, employee benefits plans must initially be established by a church for the plans to be exempt from ERISA as “church plans.”
President Trump Signs Executive Order on Affordable Care Act
Executive Summary: On Friday January 20, 2017, President Trump signed an executive order titled “Minimizing the Economic Burden of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Pending Repeal.” The Order directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the heads of all other executive departments and agencies (e.g., Treasury, DOL, Health and Human Services, etc.) to take all actions consistent with law to waive, defer, or delay the implementation of any provision or requirement of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that would impose a financial (fee, tax, penalty) or regulatory burden on states, individuals, families, healthcare providers, and/or health insurers. The order also encouraged the development of a free and open market in interstate commerce for the offering of healthcare services and health insurance.
Employee Benefits Newsletter – Winter 2017
HHS and ACA Enforcement under the Influence of a Trump Administration. A summary of some of the essential facts about enforcement of the Affordable Care Act by the Department of Health and Human Services.