"The normal deadline under HIPAA to make an enrollment change due to special enrollment is 30 days. However, this COVID relief provided that a participant's deadline would toll until 60 days following the end of the National Emergency."  MORE >>

"The CCDA requires employers that sponsor group health plans with employees in Illinois to disclose a comparison of the plan's coverage to certain 'Essential Health Benefits' required by Illinois state law.... The CCDA broadly applies, regardless of the employer's size or its location, to fully insured and self-funded group health plans. Additionally, the Illinois [DOL] has taken the position that the CCDA also applies to ERISA-covered self-funded group health plans."  MORE >>

"The City also has its own paid sick leave ordinance. Employers may provide sick leave through an accrual method of 1 hour for every 30 hours worked or a front-loaded method of no less than 40 hours at the beginning of the benefit year. Employers may limit an employer's usage of earned leave to 40 hours per benefit year."  MORE >>

"A certification is considered insufficient when the information on the FMLA form is unclear, vague or nonresponsive ... If the employee submits the certification after the deadline provided or extended by the employer, the employer may deny FMLA protection for the period of the time elapsed between the deadline and the submission of the certification[.]"  MORE >>

"Included in the bill is a provision that would temporarily allow expenses for telehealth and other remote care services to continue be paid from a health savings account (HSA) without first meeting the deductible under the high deductible health plan (HDHP). The provision would allow the deductible to be disregarded for the period April 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022."  MORE >>

"Moving from a PPO to an HDHP reduced the probability of using health care services.... Office visits, prescription drug fills, inpatient days, and emergency department visits all declined.... The reductions in use of health care services prompted declines in overall health care spending.... Moving from a PPO to an HDHP had a mixed impact on use of out-of-network health care services."  MORE >>

14 pages. "This issue brief offers perspectives on factors contributing to hospital pricing and price variation, discusses potential stakeholder uses and impacts of emerging transparency data, and offers an actuarial perspective on emerging transparency requirements."  MORE >>

"69% of respondents who pay for their own health insurance reported medical debt, as did 61% of respondents with policies through their employer and 59% of respondents with no health insurance at all. One reason people with health insurance seem to be more likely to have debt than those without coverage: deductibles."  MORE >>

"The brief provides guidance for health policy makers considering which pandemic-era interventions to continue and, more broadly, how to address social needs and health equity through health policy. The brief describes both COVID-19-era interventions and similar health policies implemented before the pandemic, outlining relevant strategies and presenting evidence of their impact when available."  MORE >>

"80 percent of job seekers believe their companies need to reevaluate the benefits they offer. Sixty-seven percent of job seekers surveyed indicated benefits are more important to them now than before the pandemic, and 54 percent would consider taking a lower-paying job with a better benefits package."  MORE >>