"The year-over-year inflation increase for 2022 is 6.222%.... [A] chart shows the 2022 and 2021 maximum (and in some cases, minimum) penalties for certain health and welfare plan violations assessed after Jan. 15."  MORE >>

"In 2021, DOL mental health parity audits cited coverage items that are more nuanced and less numbers-based. Issues found include differences in NQTL between medical and MH/SUD benefits for medical necessity review, prior authorization and clinical review, and treatment for autism spectrum disorder."  MORE >>

"If finalized in its current form, the 2022 Proposed Rule could enhance predictability of cash flow for pharmacies, reduce out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for Medicare Part D enrollees, and lead Part D plan sponsors to raise premiums, thereby causing increased competition among Part D plan sponsors for beneficiaries."  MORE >>

"The law, which goes into effect March 23, 2022, ... includes provisions that will continue to allow physicians authorized to recommend medical marijuana to conduct the required in-person patient exams via telehealth.... [T]he law provides that each healthcare professional licensing board may adopt rules it considers necessary to establish a standard of care for telehealth services."  MORE >>

"[Self-insured employers can] take steps to keep costs down for the unbudgeted expense of paying for at-home COVID-19 tests.... [1] Plan ahead with the knowledge that the mandate allows for eight tests per family member, so a family of four is entitled to 32 tests per month.... [2] [D]ecide whether to cover OTC COVID-19 tests under [the] medical and/or prescription drug plans.... [3] Companies can work directly with preferred OTC test sellers through a pharmacy network and a direct-to-consumer shipping program."  MORE >>

"A third of employees think supplemental insurance is more important now than they did before the pandemic. And almost half of employees -- and 63% of millennials -- purchased at least one new benefit because of the pandemic, with life insurance, critical illness insurance and mental health resources sought after the most."  MORE >>

"[T]he future of employee benefits may well be personalized or 'bespoke' benefits packages that are closely tailored to the needs of individual employees.... [I]ndividualized benefits necessarily require a personal approach to benefits management. This means managers need to work closely with HR teams to ensure the perks offered to employees actually reflect the perks those employees value the most."  MORE >>

"Employees of Georgia's university system are automatically categorized as smokers through the system's health insurance plan. If employees don't opt out of that status, they're charged an additional monthly fee. Employees who don't smoke have to opt out every year to avoid the fee.... [S]ome employees say a glitch in the system during the 2019 and 2020 Open Enrollment periods still categorized some workers as smokers even after they'd opted out."  MORE >>