The $1.7 trillion spending bill for 2023 contains several different provisions of importance for employers. Among these provisions is the extension of a provision of the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act concerning telehealth until December 31, 2024. This provision allows health savings account (HSA)-qualifying high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) to cover telehealth and other Read More

As 2023 begins, cases involving various aspects of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) are pending before various federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. The following five cases merit close attention as they progress through the courts.  Lloyd v. Argent Trust Company, Case Number 22-3116, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The first case is a proposed class action lawsuit in Read More

Members of self-funded healthcare plans administered by UnitedHealthcare Group (“United”) have filed a class action lawsuit against the company for violating its fiduciary duty under ERISA and their plans' terms. In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs allege that United has systematically underpaid benefits for claims relating to out-of-network healthcare providers.  Many self-funded healthcare plans that United Read More

On December 23, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the U.S. Department of the Treasury (collectively, “the Departments”) issued joint FAQs concerning certain provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021 (CAA). The FAQS relate to the implementation of Title II (Transparency) of Division BB of the CAA, which addresses the mandatory reporting Read More

2022 was a busy year for federal benefits litigation. Here are seven landmark court rulings of 2022 for employers and benefits plan administrators. Dobbs et al. v. Jackson Women's Health Organization et al., Case Number 19-1392, U.S. Supreme Court  The U.S. Supreme Court issued a bombshell decision on June 24, 2022, that overturned its 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade and women's constitutional right to abortion. Read More

The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has issued proposed updates to its Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP). Notice of the proposed updates allows 60 days for public comments, expiring on January 20, 2023. The existing features of the VFCP will remain in place until EBSA publishes final revisions to the VFCP in the Federal Register. EBSA’s VFCP originated Read More

Capital One won a recent dismissal in one of the many Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) suits, filed by workers, concerning the low-performing BlackRock target-date-funds (TDFs). On the same day that he dismissed a similar suit against Booz Allen Hamilton, Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff dismissed the Capital One employee suit. Still, as in the Booz Allen case, he gave the employees 14 days to amend their Read More

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit appeared receptive to reviving an ERISA class action suit against Northwestern University, claiming mismanagement of the workers’ 403(b) plan, albeit on a limited scale. The employees alleged that Northwestern breached their fiduciary duties under ERISA by allowing too many investment options, causing them to pay excessive fees. In addition, they claimed that Read More

In Tullgren v. Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. et al., case number 1:22-cv-00856, Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia dismissed an employee’s 401(k) mismanagement suit against Booz Allen Hamilton, at least for now. The judge gave the employee leave to file an amended complaint within 14 days.  Michael Tullgren had filed suit against the Virginia-based consulting Read More

U.S. Magistrate Joseph C. Spero granted a motion to compel from a proposed class of patients, alleging that their insurer, United Behavioral Health, had underpaid their out-of-network reimbursement claims. The judge found that third-party billing contractor, MultiPlan, had waived all claimed protections in its privilege log and failed to follow an October order concerning the discovery dispute. As a result, MultiPlan Read More