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Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter
March 24, 2021
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► 6 Jobs Today
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[Official Guidance]
Text of CMS Technical Stakeholder Guidance: Updated and New 2021 Special Enrollment Period for COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PDF)
Mar. 23, 2021. "Consumers will newly be able to access the SEP through a variety of channels ... Consumers who enroll under this SEP will be able to select a plan with coverage that starts prospectively the first of the month after plan selection.... Current enrollees will be able to change to any plan available to them in their area." MORE >>
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS], U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS]
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[Guidance Overview]
Some Family Members May Not Be Eligible for the ARPA COBRA Premium Subsidy
"If a former employee who is an assistance-eligible individual elects COBRA coverage that includes a family member who is not a qualified beneficiary (e.g., a domestic partner or a new spouse to whom the employee was not married at the time of the qualifying event), how much of the premium is not subsidized? And how much is the payroll tax credit to which the employer (or multiemployer plan or insurer) is entitled?" MORE >>
Proskauer
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[Guidance Overview]
The American Rescue Plan Act Includes Required COBRA Subsidy
"[E]mployers sometimes rely on employer-paid COBRA benefits as consideration for a release of claims [as part of a severance agreement].... The legally required ARPA COBRA subsidy at least during the limited period of April 1 to September 30 may not be adequate consideration alone for a release in this situation." MORE >>
Littler
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[Guidance Overview]
Employer Q&As Regarding Paid Leave Under the American Rescue Plan Act
"As more employers consider whether to provide this paid leave, and, therefore, be eligible for the payroll tax credits, additional questions have arisen.... No federal agency, including the [DOL], has issued guidance on this legislative action as of the date of this publication." MORE >>
Husch Blackwell
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[Guidance Overview]
New COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave Law Retroactively Expands California Employer Obligations
"SB 95 both revives and expands upon the expired SPSL laws, extending the reach to far more employers and increasing the grounds for taking paid leave." MORE >>
Duane Morris LLP
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Court Says Health Plan Document May Not Exclude Specified Autism Treatments
"[The claims administrator] argued that the plan is not required to provide specific mental health benefits relating to autism.... [The court] ruled that 'In this case, the ABA and IBT exclusions only apply to mental health disorders. Therefore, the exclusions create a separate treatment limitation applicable only to services for a mental health condition. By doing so, the exclusion violates the plain terms of the MHPAEA.' " [Doe v. United Behavioral Health, No. 19-7316 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 5, 2021)] MORE >>
The Wagner Law Group
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District Court Highlights the Risk of Inaccurate and Inconsistent Communications Regarding Leaves of Absence
"Although ... an employer may have a policy that requires FMLA and short-term disability leaves to run concurrently with one another, eligibility and other requirements of each type of leave [differ].... [E]mployers may consider administering each type of leave separately, including sending separate communications to employees relating to the specific type of leave being addressed." [Knaup v. Molina Healthcare of Ohio, Inc., No. 19-166 (S.D. Ohio Mar. 3, 2021)] MORE >>
Ogletree Deakins
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Smart Solutions to Help with Benefit Selection
"35% of the employed Americans ... surveyed did not fully understand any of the benefits they enrolled in during their most recent enrollment period. That number jumped to over half of employees in the millennial age group.... [W]here's the disconnect?.... [M]any signs point to the complexity of the benefits." MORE >>
Voya
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Benefits in General |
Jury Trials in ERISA Cases in the Eleventh Circuit?
"[T]he court denied John Hancock's motion [to strike the jury trial demand]. The court stated at the outset that the issue had not yet been decided by the Eleventh Circuit ... and further found that there were district court decisions on both sides of the issue within the circuit." [Romano v. John Hancock Life Ins. Co., No. 19-21147 (S.D. Fla. Mar. 12, 2021) ] MORE >>
Kantor & Kantor
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Employee Benefits Jobs |
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Press Releases |
Veteran to Help OneAmerica®Boost East Coast Sales Territory Presence
OneAmerica
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Former EBSA Official Wilson Rejoins Groom Law Group
Groom Law Group
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Husch Blackwell Launches COVID-19 Vaccine Policy Generator
Husch Blackwell
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Wharton Advisors Corporation Teams up with The Wealth Engineering Family of Companies
WealthEngineering
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Last Issue's Most Popular Items |
Increased Limit for Dependent Care Assistance Programs: Traps for the Unwary
Troutman Sanders
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Group Health Plan Transparency Disclosure Rules Finalized: What Plan Sponsors Should Know
Dickinson Wright PLLC
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M&A Benefits: How to Avoid an Employee Benefits Train Wreck in Your Next Deal
Employee Benefits Law Group
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BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter, ISSN no. 1536-9587.
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