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Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter
June 22, 2021
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► 9 New Job Opportunities
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Be Careful What You Contract For: HIPAA and Successor Liability
"On April 28, 2021, [OCR] ... entered into a resolution agreement ... to settle allegations of violations of the [HIPAA] Security Rule.... What is notable in this instance is that the investigation was not initiated because of a breach of unsecured Protected Health Information (PHI) ... Instead, the event that triggered the OCR investigation was a breach by Peachstate's acquirer, a business associate of a different covered entity." MORE >>
Archer
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GAO Report on Prescription Drugs: Medicare Spending on Drugs with Direct-To-Consumer Advertising
"Drug manufacturers spent $17.8 billion on direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) for 553 drugs from 2016 through 2018, and spending was relatively stable at about $6 billion each year.... Medicare Parts B and D and beneficiaries spent $560 billion on drugs from 2016 through 2018, $324 billion of which was spent on advertised drugs.... [GAO] found that drug manufacturers changed their DTCA spending during key events, such as increasing spending when a drug was approved to treat additional conditions or decreasing spending following the approval of generic versions. GAO also found that DTCA may have contributed to increases in Medicare beneficiary use and spending among four selected drugs from 2010 through 2018." [GAO-21-380, published May 18, 2021, released Jun. 17, 2021] MORE >>
U.S. Government Accountability Office [GAO]
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Second PBM Reform Bill Becomes Law in Texas
"Texas HB 1919 became law last week. The bill prevents PBM self-dealing by prohibiting them from steering patients to affiliated pharmacies. It is the second PBM reform bill to become enacted recently in Texas." MORE >>
National Center for Policy Analysis [NCPA]
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[Opinion]
American Benefits Council Comments on Self-Insured Plan Reporting to State All Payer Claims Databases (APCDs)
"[R]equiring employers to master the laws of 50 states and to submit different data sets, at different times, in different formats, for different populations would impose substantial burdens on self-insured plans. These significant costs would ultimately be borne in whole or in part by plan participants ... [We] ask that the Committee report and the subsequent DOL guidance to the states, state clearly and unequivocally that states cannot require self-insured plans to report to state APCDs." MORE >>
American Benefits Council
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[Opinion]
In Third Obamacare Decision, Supreme Court Doesn't Decide Whether It's Constitutional
"In the end, the mandate and the [ACA] are here to stay, at least for now. The tradeoff for that outcome, though, was an opinion that muddies the waters of the Supreme Court's existing standing cases. That's a bad outcome all around." [California v. Texas, No. 19-840 (S. Ct. Jun. 17, 2021)] MORE >>
The Heritage Foundation
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Benefits in General |
Tenth Circuit Makes Clear That Arms-Length Service Agreements Without Evidence of a Prior Relationship Are Not Prohibited Transactions
"Plaintiffs contended, '[b]ecause [the recordkeeper] is a service provider and hence a 'party in interest,' its 'furnishing of' recordkeeping and administrative services to the Plan constituted a prohibited transaction[.]' The Tenth Circuit soundly rejected that notion, noting '[t]he class's interpretation leads to an absurd result: the initial agreement with a service provider would simultaneously transform that provider into a party in interest and make that same transaction prohibited under Section 1106.' " [Ramos v. Banner Health, No. 20-1231 (10th Cir. June 11, 2021)] MORE >>
Jackson Lewis P.C.
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Employers Make Enhancing the Employee Experience a Top Priority for Post-Pandemic Success
"Most respondents believe a positive employee experience is a key driver of engagement (82%), employee wellbeing (79%), productivity (79%), and ability to attract and retain talent (80%).... Less than one in seven (13%) say the pandemic has receded enough to end temporary pandemic-related policies and programs. The rest indicate they will be ready to do so during the second half of this year (59%) or in 2022 or beyond (28%)." MORE >>
Willis Towers Watson
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Employee Benefits Jobs |
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Press Releases |
Tony Notermann Joins SageView Advisory Group as Chief Financial Officer
SageView Advisory Group
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Haynes and Boone’s Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation Practice Featured in 2021 Chambers USA Directory
Haynes and Boone, LLP
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Voya Launches New Stable Value Offering to Help Retirement Savers with Their Financial Security
Voya Financial
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OneDigital Acquires Christine Mathews Consulting, Marking Its Largest HR Acquisition
OneDigital
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Webcasts and Conferences (Health & Welfare Plans) |
Section 125 Cafeteria Plans
July 20, 2021 WEBCAST
ABD Insurance & Financial Services
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Professionalism in a Virtual World
August 4, 2021 WEBCAST
Conference of Consulting Actuaries
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Last Issue's Most Popular Items |
Text of Agencies' Request for Information: Reporting on Pharmacy Benefits and Prescription Drug Costs
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS]; U.S. Department of Labor [DOL]; U.S. Treasury Department; and Office of Personnel Management [OPM]
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The ACA Survives Supreme Court Challenge: What Happens Next?
K&L Gates
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Eighth Circuit Denies Appointment of Arbitrator to Resolve Dispute Over Payment of Attorneys' Fees from Welfare Trust
Roberts Disability Law
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BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter, ISSN no. 1536-9587.
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