Employee Benefits Archives - Page 7 of 150

Texas AG’s Landmark AI Settlement: A Wake-Up Call for Health Tech & AI Companies

by Jiayan Chen, Dale C. Van Demark, Jennifer S. Geetter, Shawn C. Helms and Grayson I. Dimick | Oct 3, 2024 | Digital Health, Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans

Healthcare providers, payors, and other healthcare organizations should be aware of a recently announced, “first-of-its-kind” settlement between the Texas attorney general and a healthcare generative artificial intelligence (AI) company resolving allegations that the company made a series of false and misleading statements about the accuracy and safety of its AI products. The settlement highlights the potential for enforcement against companies that utilize AI in a healthcare setting under existing laws that are not specific to AI and the importance of exercising caution in developing claims about an AI product’s efficacy or performance.

Read more here.

IRS Releases Guidance on Matching Contributions for Student Loan Payments

by Kevin Spencer, Evan Walters and Sama Kaseer | Oct 1, 2024 | Employee Benefits, Retirement Plans

Last month, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released long-awaited guidance on matching contributions for qualified student loan payments under § 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code and other similar retirement plans. This guidance aims to help plan sponsors with setting up these programs for plan years beginning after December 31, 2024, until proposed regulations are issued.

Learn more and see other updates in this Weekly IRS Roundup.

HHS, Labor, and Treasury Finalize Mental Health Parity Rule

by Katie Waldo, Rachel Stauffer, Erica Stocker, Jeffrey Davis, Leigh Feldman, Julia Grabo and Maddie News | Sep 26, 2024 | Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans, Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act

On September 9, 2024, the US Departments of Health and Human Services , Labor, and the Treasury finalized a rule related to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. This rule introduces significant updates to mental health and substance use disorder benefits, ensuring parity with medical and surgical benefits. Key changes include enhanced protections against restrictive treatment limitations, clarified definitions, and new data evaluation requirements. These updates, effective from January 2025, are crucial for hospitals, health systems, and managed care providers.

Read more here.

Plan Sponsors, Insurers, and the Landmark Mental Health Parity Final Rule

by Alden Bianchi, Jacob Mattinson and Sarah Raaii | Sep 19, 2024 | Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans, Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act

The US Departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services recently issued much-anticipated final regulations under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). The newly issued final regulations update the 2013 final regulations principally to reflect the changes to MHPAEA enacted by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, which requires plans and issuers to formally analyze and compare nonquantitative treatment limitations as they apply to both mental health and substance use disorder benefits and medical/surgical benefits.

The changes in the final regulations largely take effect in 2025, with the effective date for some provisions delayed until 2026. Although the final regulations may face litigation challenges, considering the recent decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, health plan sponsors should plan to comply by the quickly approaching deadlines.

Read more here.

White House Launches ‘Time Is Money’ Initiative

by Debra Curtis, Kristen O'Brien, Julia Grabo and Erica Stocker | Sep 17, 2024 | Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans

On August 12, 2024, the Biden administration launched a new “Time Is Money” initiative, seeking to crack down on time-consuming and burdensome business processes.

The initiative includes a requirement for federal employee health plans to provide an online opportunity to submit claims. It also features an accompanying letter to health insurance CEOs from the heads of the US Department of Health and Human Services and US Department of Labor that challenges the CEOS to offer online claim submissions, deny claims only where appropriate, and provide clear steps to appeal decisions.

IRS Announces Second Employee Retention Credit Voluntary Disclosure Program

by Kevin Spencer, Evan Walters and Sama Kaseer | Sep 10, 2024 | Employee Benefits, Employment

On August 15, 2024, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Announcement 2024-30, which provides a second Employee Retention Credit Voluntary Disclosure Program for employers to resolve erroneous claims. This program aims to help employers avoid civil litigation, penalties, and interest by settling their civil tax liabilities. It will run through November 22, 2024.

Provider-Sponsored Health Plans and Value-Based Care Strategies

by Brad Dennis, Kate McDonald and Matthew J. Perreault | Sep 5, 2024 | Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans

In response to evolving market demands, an increasing number of hospitals and health systems are considering creating provider-sponsored health plans (PHSPs), which are health insurance plans owned and operated by healthcare providers. McDermott’s healthcare team recently hosted a webinar exploring how PSHPs may offer hospitals a strategic pathway towards achieving sustainable, patient-centered care delivery by driving improvements in care coordination, health outcomes, and member satisfaction.

Watch the recording here.

New IRS Revenue Procedure Affects Defined Benefit Pension Plan Sponsors

by Kevin Spencer, Evan Walters and Sama Kaseer | Aug 29, 2024 | Employee Benefits, Retirement Plans

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently released a new revenue procedure that outlines how sponsors of defined benefit pension plans should request approval to use plan-specific substitute mortality tables for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2025. The IRS also issued new proposed regulations that would increase penalties for employers that erroneously claimed employment tax credit refunds under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act; the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act; and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

Check out this Weekly IRS Roundup here for more information.

Federal Court Invalidates Key Part of HHS OCR Bulletin Regarding Application of HIPAA to Online Tracking Technologies

by Ryan S. Higgins, David Quinn Gacioch, Jennifer S. Geetter, Daniel F. Gottlieb and Edward G. Zacharias | Aug 27, 2024 | Digital Health, Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans

In a consequential decision for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)-regulated entities, on June 20, 2024, the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas ruled that the US Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights exceeded its authority in certain respects in sub-regulatory guidance. The guidance concerned HIPAA’s application to cookies and other online tracking technologies on HIPAA-regulated entities’ unauthenticated webpages.

Read more here.

Pending California Law Undermines Growth of Digital Health Companies and Patient Access to Virtual Care

by Lisa Schmitz Mazur, Patrick Zanayed, Nathan Gray, Travis Jackson and Joel Rush | Aug 22, 2024 | Digital Health, Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans

In California, pending Assembly Bill 3129 could severely limit the ability of digital health companies to grow and operate in the state by prohibiting arrangements between physician, psychiatric, and dental practices and any entity that furnishes business or management services to providers that accept investments from private equity groups and hedge funds. The legislation’s current definition of private equity is arguably broad enough to capture venture capital funds, angel investors, family offices and even the innovation or investment arms of academic and nonprofit medical centers. Digital health companies based in California who provide benefits services should closely monitor the potential impact of this proposed legislation on their businesses.

Read more here.

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