COVID-19 Archives - EMPLOYEE BENEFITS BLOG

The Employee Retention Credit: How to Litigate and Resolve Claims

by Shawn O’Brien, Samuel Hamer and Michael Scarduzio | Apr 10, 2025 | Employee Benefits, Employment

The Employee Retention Credit (ERC), introduced under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act in March 2020, was designed to help employers retain employees during the COVID-19 pandemic by offering a refundable tax credit against certain employment taxes. However, the processing and payment of ERC claims have faced significant delays, with many claims remaining unprocessed or disallowed by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

In this Bloomberg Tax article, Shawn O’Brien, Samuel Hamer, and Michael Scarduzio summarize each ERC stage and outline a taxpayer’s path to payment by stage.

Access the article.

Congress Extends Certain Telehealth Flexibilities Through March 31, 2025

by McDermott Will & Emery | Feb 20, 2025 | Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans

At the close of 2024, the US Congress passed a short-term extension of Medicare telehealth flexibilities as part of the American Relief Act, 2025. The Medicare telehealth waivers, originally enacted as part of the COVID-19 public health emergency and subsequently extended through legislation, were set to end on December 31, 2024. These flexibilities, along with the Acute Hospital Care at Home waiver program, are now set to expire March 31, 2025.

Read more here.

Telehealth: Regulatory Questions Amid Legislative Uncertainty

by Jeffrey Davis and Rachel Stauffer | Jul 18, 2024 | Digital Health, Health and Welfare Plans

One year on from the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, the Medicare restrictions on telehealth that Congress waived to allow for and expand the use of telehealth and other forms of virtual care are set to expire. Congress has already acted twice to extend the waivers, most recently in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, which extended them until the end of this calendar year. Thus, starting on January 1, 2025, these waivers will disappear without further Congressional action. The uncertainty about whether Congress will again extend the telehealth waivers (and for how long) will create numerous questions and cause confusion for health plans, patients and providers.

Exploring the Virtual Care Policy Landscape One Year Post-PHE

by Rachel Stauffer, Leigh Feldman, Julia Grabo, Rachel Hollander and Erica Stocker | Jun 13, 2024 | Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans

May 11, 2024, marked one year since the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), and not much has changed in Medicare telehealth policy. We are still operating under temporary waivers and flexibilities and, as a result, many pandemic-era virtual care policies are facing a cliff on December 31, 2024. This looms large during a contentious election year in which legislating has grown increasingly difficult.

This +Insight explores the virtual care policy landscape one year after the end of the PHE, and describes the actions Congress and federal agencies must take for such pandemic-era policies to continue.

Access the article.

Congress Likely to Kick the Can on COVID-Era Telehealth Policies

by Debra Curtis | May 8, 2024 | Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans

Congressional lawmakers must soon decide to continue or end payment changes for telehealth services enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, according to this KFF Health News article, Congress will likely “kick the can” past the November election.

Access the article.

Soaring to New Heights: The IRS’s Crackdown on Aircraft Usage by Corporations and High-Income Earners

by Andrew Liazos, David Fuller and Jennifer Hill | Mar 1, 2024 | Executive Compensation, Fiduciary and Investment Issues

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced plans to initiate dozens of new audits this spring in an attempt to ground high-flying taxpayers and their personal usage of corporate aircrafts. These audits will focus primarily on “highest risk” corporations and large partnerships, IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel stated. Werfel added that audits of high-income earners will likely follow to “ensure that high-income groups are not flying under the radar.”

Read more here.

2024: The Year of the Telehealth Cliff

by Lisa Schmitz Mazur, Rachel Stauffer, Debra Curtis and Leigh Feldman | Feb 5, 2024 | Digital Health, Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans

What does December 31, 2024, mean to you? New Year’s Eve? Post-2024 election? Too far away to know?

Our answer: December 31, 2024, is when we will go over a “telehealth cliff” if Congress fails to act before that date, directly impacting care and access for Medicare beneficiaries. What is this telehealth cliff?

Read more here.

UK Healthcare Waiting Lists: Will Choice Make a Difference?

by Sharon Lamb | Jan 11, 2024 | Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans

How can the independent sector and choice make a dent in reversing the increasingly high number of United Kingdom healthcare patients waiting for treatment? In this LaingBuisson News article, Sharon Lamb examines the latest waiting time data and offers perspective on potential solutions.

Read more here.

Employers Be Forewarned and Forearmed: Recent IRS Announcements Require Action on ERTC Claims

by David Fuller and Jennifer Hill | Nov 9, 2023 | Employee Benefits, Employment

Asserting that many employers have improperly claimed Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) refunds, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released two new announcements that address ERTC claims. Following these new IRS announcements, most employers should consult their legal and tax advisors and consider filing protective refund claims to preserve their employment and income tax positions and to defend against potential IRS penalties and interest.

Read more here.

DEA Further Extends Flexibilities for Controlled-Substance Prescribing via Telemedicine

by Amanda Enyeart, Marshall E. Jackson, Jr., Lisa Schmitz Mazur, Dale C. Van Demark, Patrick Zanayed, Purnima Boominathan, Grayson I. Dimick, Jayda Greco and Rachel Stauffer | Oct 25, 2023 | Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans

The US Drug Enforcement Administration and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration have further extended flexibilities that allow providers to prescribe controlled substances via telemedicine without first performing an in-person visit. The flexibilities were initially provided during the COVID-19 public health emergency. The extension runs through December 31, 2024.

Read more here.

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