"[The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has] accepted updates to existing guidelines ... regarding breastfeeding services and supplies, well-woman preventive care visits, access to contraceptives and contraceptive counseling, screening for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and counseling for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). These updates include, for the first time, requiring coverage without cost-sharing for double electric breast pumps. HHS also approved a new guideline aiming to prevent and reduce obesity in midlife women (ages 40 to 60) through counseling.... HRSA also accepted updates to existing Bright Futures guidelines [which] include adding universal screening for suicide risk ... for individuals ages 12 to 21, and new guidance for behavioral, social and emotional screening. HRSA has also accepted new guidelines for assessing risks for cardiac arrest or death for individuals ages 11 to 21 and assessing risks for hepatitis B virus infection in newborn to 21 year-olds." [HRSA guidelines, both existing and updated, are available online.]  MORE >>

"The new coverage requirement means that most consumers with private health coverage can go online or to a pharmacy or store, buy a test, and either get it paid for up front by their health plan, or get reimbursed for the cost by submitting a claim to their plan. This requirement incentivizes insurers to cover these costs up front and ensures individuals do not need an order from their health care provider to access these tests for free." [See FAQs Part 51, issued January 10, 2022.]  MORE >>

"How do I get a free at-home over-the-counter COVID-19 test? ... How much will I be reimbursed for an at-home over-the-counter COVID-19 test if I purchase the test upfront and then submit a claim for reimbursement to my insurance company? ... Why would these companies be incentivized to cover the cost up front? ... What if I can't afford to pay for the at-home over-the-counter COVID-19 test(s) upfront? ... How many tests can I get reimbursed for? ... My employer requires that I test myself multiple times per week and send them the results as a condition of employment. Can I get these tests reimbursed by insurance?"  MORE >>

"The new disclosure requirements apply to persons who provide 'brokerage services' or 'consulting' to ERISA-covered group health plans [and] expect to receive $1,000 or more in direct or indirect compensation. The disclosures are intended to provide plan fiduciaries with sufficient information to assess the reasonableness of the compensation to be received (before it is received) and any potential conflicts of interest."  MORE >>

"[D]espite the elimination of the transitional good faith relief, the IRS stated in the preamble to the proposed regulations that ... penalty relief for 'reasonable cause,' has always been, and will continue to be, available ... Of course, reasonable cause is a higher standard than good faith."  MORE >>

"Among other things, it is clear from the preamble to the new rule that it prohibits discrimination in 'benefit design based on sexual orientation and gender identity.' HHS makes clear that it disapproves of policies that make gender-affirming care unavailable to transgender individuals in need of such care. HHS intends that, when finalized, the rule will require that essential benefit determinations not discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity."  MORE >>

"All employers with at least one employee in Connecticut are covered by the Connecticut FMLA as of January 1, 2022.... Employees are eligible after three months of employment. Eligible employees are entitled 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for various covered reasons."  MORE >>

"[E]mployees outside of New York must be included in determining an employer's size, which will affect the amount of leave an employee is eligible to accrue.... [W]hile employers may require employees to provide documentation -- such as a note from a healthcare provider -- to support their eligibility for leave, they cannot require documentation that would cause employees to incur any costs."  MORE >>

"Employers with employees located in California are generally required to withhold and send state disability contributions to the [Employment Development Department (EDD)]."  MORE >>

"This Issue Brief summarizes the ACA's preventive services provisions for private health coverage, Medicare, and Medicaid; provides updated estimates of the number of people benefiting from these provisions nationally; and examines evidence on trends in utilization of preventive services and outcomes since the ACA's preventive services coverage requirements went into effect."  MORE >>

"Life insurance executives shuddered last week with news of a reported 40% increase in death rates due to the COVID-19 pandemic.... But those mortality rates might not be what they seem for most life insurers.... One of the things life insurers are doing in the age of COVID is sharpening the underwriting process to better identify risk."  MORE >>

"Many problems with service providers arise because Primary Fiduciaries do not understand their roles and accountabilities. Lack of formal training, which the DOL reports is a rampant deficiency among plan sponsors, undermines otherwise well-intentioned Primary Fiduciaries' ability to make proper choices of service providers. Consequently, they expose themselves and their employers to needless risk, as ERISA ignorance is not a legal defense."  MORE >>