ELIZABETH LOH, March 18, 2021 On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act (the “Act”). This $1.9 trillion legislative package provides significant pandemic relief. This article focuses on the COBRA continuation coverage subsidy relief, as well as increased Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (“Dependent Care FSA”) relief provided under […]
Author: Trucker Huss
MARY E. POWELL and SARAH KANTER, March 1, 2021 On February 26, 2021, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS) and Treasury (collectively the “Departments”) released FAQs About Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “FFCRA”) and Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) Implementation Part 44 (the “FAQs”).1 These FAQs […]
MARY E. POWELL and SARAH KANTER, March 1, 2021 On February 26, 2021, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) Disaster Relief Notice 2021-01 (“2021 Relief Notice”)1, which explains how employee benefit plans must administer the end date of the tolling period for certain plan deadlines due to the COVID-19 national […]
MARY E. POWELL and SARAH KANTER, January 29, 2021 The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the CAA) contains numerous provisions that impact group health plans. At a high level, these CAA provisions can be broken into three main categories: (1) reducing Out-of-Network (OON) costs for enrollees, (2) providing transparency regarding costs, and (3) permissive changes that […]
T. KATURI KAYE and CATHERINE L. REAGAN, January 14, 2021 Signed by the President in December, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) combines COVID-19 stimulus relief with a number of year-end appropriations bills, and it includes numerous provisions that will impact retirement plans. The retirement plan relief provisions in the CAA are divided between (1) […]
MARY E. POWELL and ELIZABETH LOH, January 6, 2021 In December, the President signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA), which combines COVID-19 stimulus relief with a number of year-end appropriations bills. The CAA contains numerous provisions that will impact health and welfare plans. The provisions of the CAA that need immediate attention are the […]
CLARISSA A. KANG, November 24, 2020 One of the cases heard by eight justices of the Supreme Court (after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died and before Justice Amy Coney Barrett was appointed and sworn in), Rutledge v. Pharmaceutical Care Management Association involves the question of whether ERISA preempts or supersedes an Arkansas state law governing […]
JAHIZ NOEL AGARD, November 24, 2020 2020 has presented several issues requiring urgent attention for employers who sponsor group health plans, including a need to update the notices required under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA), in particular the general (or initial) notice and the continuation coverage election (or enrollment) notice. This […]
ROBER R. GOWER, November 12, 2020 On October 30, 2020, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule (the “Final Rule”) amending the investment duties regulation under Section 404(a) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The significant and much-anticipated Final Rule updates the existing investment duties regulation framework to provide […]
J. MARC FOSSE, October 8, 2020 The amendments to section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) can create a payment trap for nonqualified deferred compensation plans with a mandatory payment delay of amounts that are not deductible under Code section 162(m). The proposed Treasury Regulations under […]
SARAH KANTER, October 8, 2020 A new proposed rule (the “Proposed Rule”), released by the Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (HHS) (the “Departments”) on July 10, 2020, would permit grandfathered group health plans and grandfathered group health insurance coverage (“grandfathered plans”) to make greater increases to certain types of cost-sharing requirements […]
ANGEL L. GARRETT, August 27, 2020 A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reminds plan fiduciaries once again of the importance of including claims and appeals procedures and administrative exhaustion language in their plans. See Wallace v. Oakwood Healthcare, Inc., 954 F.3d 879 (6th Cir. 2020). Often, plan fiduciaries […]
BRYAN J. CARD, August 27, 2020 On June 19, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2020-50 (the “Notice”), which provided much needed guidance on Section 2202 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”). Section 2202 of the CARES Act provides economic relief to certain individuals who have been […]
YATINDRA PANDYA, July 9, 2020 Background On May 27, 2020, the Department of Labor (DOL) published its final rule on electronic disclosures, creating an additional voluntary fiduciary safe harbor for electronically providing participant disclosures required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA). The effective date of this final rule is […]
GISUE MEHDI and BRIANA B. DESCH, July 9, 2020 In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2020-29 and Notice 2020-33 (the “Notices”) on May 12, 2020. Notice 2020-29 provides increased flexibility for participants to make mid-year health plan, health flexible spending account (“Health […]
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