The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the U.S. Department of Treasury, recently issued FAQs concerning the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), after the decision in Braidwood Management v. Becerra, which invalidated portions of the ACA. Coverage of Preventive Services Public Read More

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently took a second look at allegations that a defined contribution plan’s fiduciaries had breached the duty of prudence under ERISA in Hughes v. Northwestern University, 63 F.4th 615, 2023 WL 2607921 (7th Cir. 2023). The plan participants claimed that plan fiduciaries breached the duty of prudence by allowing excessive recordkeeping fees to accumulate, partly Read More

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has requested that Congress allocate $5 million and 22 full-time employees in its 2024 budget to create a program to locate missing retirement plan participants. In fiscal year 2021, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) recovered more than $1.5 billion in lost benefits for over 16,000 elderly retirees and their beneficiaries after their retirement plans lost track of Read More

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the U.S. Department of Treasury recently released FAQs concerning the implementation of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). These FAQS are in response to the Biden Read More

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation has approved the Pharmacy Benefit Manager Transparency Act (S.1339). The bill now heads to the full Senate for a vote. The bill aims to stop deceptive and anticompetitive pricing schemes by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). Currently, three PBMs control 80% of the prescription drug market, and these intermediaries in the drug supply pricing chain Read More

President Joe Biden recently vetoed H.J. Res. 30, a resolution that would have disapproved of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)’s final environmental, social, and governance (ESG) rule. Political controversy and potential legal challenges to the ESG investing rule continue. The rule allows investment plan fiduciaries to consider climate change and other ESG factors in evaluating investment decisions and shareholder Read More

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued FAQs that explain when health flexible spending arrangements (FSAs), health savings accounts (HSAs), Archer medical savings accounts (Archer MSAs), and health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) can reimburse nutrition, wellness, and general health expenses. The FAQs define when these expenses qualify as medical expenses under § 213 of the Internal Revenue Code Read More

President Joe Biden recently issued a message to the U.S. House of Representatives that vetoed H.J. Res. 30. This resolution would disapprove of a final environmental, social, and governance (ESG) rule by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) entitled “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights.” In his message, Biden stated that the DOL’s final rule protects the retirement Read More

A Texas federal judge has struck down the portion of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that requires insurers and employers to provide free preventative care services, such as contraception, as well as screenings for cancer, heart disease, HIV, and other diseases. The judge also found in his decision that requiring coverage of PrEP for HIV violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). The ruling in Braidwood Read More

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released IRS Rev. Proc. 2023-17, which provides indexing adjustments for the applicable dollar amounts under § 4980(H)(a) and (b)(1). These indexed amounts are necessary to calculate the employer-shared responsibility payments (ERSP) under these sections. This revenue procedure is effective for taxable and plan years beginning after December 31, 2023. The IRS based on the Read More