"The California DLSE just released the required COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave Poster which should be in all workplaces and emailed to remote workers."  MORE >>

"The No Surprises Act was enacted in December 2020 and went into effect on January 1, 2022. With just a year between enactment and the law's effective date, the Biden administration moved swiftly to implement the law by issuing several interim final rules, one proposed rule, and guidance. But federal officials have not stopped there and have continued to issue new guidance, answer questions, and establish new processes. This article summarizes recent federal guidance on the No Surprises Act."  MORE >>

"The federal IDR portal launched with functionalities related to uninsured individuals on January 1, 2022. Functionalities for providers, facilities, plans, and insurers are expected to be available 'in the coming weeks.' ... Plans and insurers should familiarize themselves with the IDR process requirements for disputing parties -- particularly since some timeframes for action are quite short."  MORE >>

"The court found the family's claim that the plan defined 'habilitative services' as mental health services and only applied the habilitative services exclusion to the treatment of mental health conditions as an 'entirely plausible reading' of the plan that could support a successful MHPAEA claim. Similarly, the assertion that the plan's administrators denied coverage of speech therapy 'as soon as they saw the child's ASD diagnosis,' whereas a different diagnosis would have yielded a different result, was sufficient to survive a motion to dismiss." [N.R. v. Raytheon Company, No. 20-1639 (1st Cir. Jan. 31, 2022)]  MORE >>

Video of February 17, 2022, House HELP subcommittee hearing, with testimony by: [1] Robert B. Reich, University of California at Berkeley; [2] Georges C. Benjamin, MD, American Public Health Association; [3] Brian Blase, Ph.D., Paragon Health Institute; [4] Katie Keith, JD, MPH, Georgetown University Law Center.  MORE >>

"[O]nly 39 percent of HDHP enrollees were satisfied with what they pay for prescription drugs, and only 27 percent were satisfied with the cost they pay for other health care services.... Education around use of the plan -- especially help in managing out-of-pocket spending for prescription drugs and medical services -- may hasten the comfort level, and hence satisfaction, that enrollees have with HDHPs."  MORE >>

20 pages. "Every American deserves access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment as an important part of their overall health.... Policymakers can improve access by implementing policies to expand the workforce of behavioral health clinicians, support research for evidence-based behavioral health care, and promote coordination among an integrated care team of physical and behavioral health providers".  MORE >>

"After hearing hours of testimony by community pharmacists and patients, all of whom painted the same shocking picture about PBM abuse, and not a single witness there to defend the PBM industry, it is inexplicable that two members of the commission could vote against the study."  MORE >>