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

Cigna Health and Life Insurance Co. is facing an ERISA class action lawsuit in Connecticut District Court, in which proposed class members alleged that the insurance company is overcharging for medical services. Although Cigna claims that it negotiates with in-network providers for lower rates to help their insureds save money, the proposed class members claim that Cigna engaged in a fraudulent scheme and that they Read More

The DOL, IRS, and HHS have issued joint FAQs About Affordable Care Act and Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 Implementation Part 57. These FAQs address certain provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA, 2021) that ban so-called "gag clauses" or any provisions in group health plan agreements that preclude certain disclosures of provider-specific cost or quality-of-care information. Previously, Read More

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has pushed back the deadline by one year for issuing final regulations concerning the imposition of civil penalties for violations of Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) reporting requirements. Responsible reporting entities (RREs) for group health plans, typically insurers or third-party administrators, must report certain information to CMS about individuals with Read More

Two recent federal court decisions, one in Florida and one in New York, have cast significant doubt on the ability of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to issue and enforce formal regulations defining who qualifies as a fiduciary under federal benefits law. In its latest regulatory agenda, the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) indicated that it intended to issue a new proposed rule explaining Read More

After a Texas federal court vacated a portion of the final regulations on the surprise billing independent dispute resolution (IDR) process, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ordered certified IDR entities to stop issuing new IDR payment determination pending further agency guidance. In addition, as per the Court's order, CMS also recalled Read More