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Using a new power under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for the first time, the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) has now ordered an insurance company to lower its rates. Since September 2011, HHS has been flagging any insurer that raises premiums on small businesses and individuals by 10 percent or more. […]
The effect of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) on prior authorization practices and other “nonquantitative treatment limitations” was clarified Nov. 17 in guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The MHPAEA interim final rules issued in February 2010 imposed a detailed numerical formula for determining whether quantitative limits such as copayments […]
Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) are a common feature of employee benefit plans. But why would an employer offer an FSA plan to its employees? Well, it’s extra money in your workers’ pockets that you and your employees probably don’t want to leave lying on the IRS’ table. Karen Kirkpatrick, senior compliance adviser for Infinisource, explained […]
Are you shopping around for health insurance for your small company? The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) just unveiled a computerized search engine for health insurance policies, so you can search plans in much the same way the Medicare Part D program enables elderly folks to search prescription drug plans (or the way many […]
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is touting fiscal year 2011 as a record year for obtaining monetary settlements and taking in discrimination charges. Also, the agency said it finished the fiscal year on September 30 with a 10 percent decrease in its pending charge inventory, the first such reduction since 2002. The agency released […]
With the year’s end fast approaching, employers that sponsor tax-qualified retirement plans should assess whether they may require amendments or administrative changes. To help with that process, Todd A. Solomon, a partner in the Employee Benefits Practice Group of McDermott Will & Emery’s Chicago office, and Brian J. Tiemann, also a member of that office, […]
Governor Jerry Brown recently vetoed four of the five bills the California Chamber of Commerce identified as “job killers.” The one job-killer bill signed into law is Assembly Bill 22, which severely restricts a prospective employer’s use of credit reports to screen applicants.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that he was planning to introduce a bill to make permanent the parity between parking and transit tax breaks. Schumer argues that programs that make commuting less expensive should be protected, particularly in a time of economic hardship. The matter strikes close to home for Schumer, since his constituents include […]
Fast on the heels of the latest pertinent appeals court ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court definitively announced on Nov. 14 it will decide the question of whether Congress exceeded its powers to regulate commerce when it required people to buy health insurance as part of health reform (or in the converse, whether the individual mandate is allowed […]
By Dinita L. James In the case of Collins v. Brewer, a federal judge from Alaska, deciding a case from Arizona, barred the state’s attempt to do away with benefits for same-sex domestic partners of state employees. Earlier this year, there was an argument on the case before a three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. […]