"[GASB] issued Statement No. 101, Compensated Absences, to align the recognition and measurement guidance for compensated absences and refine the related disclosure requirements.... The updated guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, and all reporting periods thereafter."  MORE >>

"The New Mexico Healthy Workplaces Act requires all private employers in New Mexico to provide all employees one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked.... Employees will be able to use earned sick leave for absences due to various reasons ... some of which include family members' illness or injury and reasons relating to domestic abuse and sexual assault."  MORE >>

"The Texas and Oklahoma laws are the only ones that explicitly classify employer coverage or reimbursement of abortion services banned in those states through insurance or benefit plans as aiding and abetting unlawful abortion.... There is some risk, however, that state criminal conspiracy and/or aiding and abetting laws may be cited against companies that cover abortion or abortion services, including receipt of abortion medication, within a particular state." [Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Org., No. 19-1392 (S. Ct. Jun. 24, 2022)]  MORE >>

"In light of Dobbs, there is no guarantee that the description of the current state of ERISA preemption jurisprudence will provide a safe haven for employers that seek to facilitate reproductive choice in their group health plans. The Supreme Court could, for example, narrow the set of criminal laws that would be ERISA-preempted under the exemption for laws of general applicability." [Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Org., No. 19-1392 (S. Ct. Jun. 24, 2022)]  MORE >>

"Third-party administrators may not be willing or able to administer travel reimbursement programs immediately ... Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and telehealth providers may also be affected by new state restrictions on abortions.... Certain travel and lodging expenses can be reimbursed as 'medical care,' and thus are excludable from income for an employee.... Employers considering reimbursing for certain medical travel -- but not for travel related to mental health or substance-use disorder benefits -- may also want to evaluate risks under [MHPAEA].' [Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Org., No. 19-1392 (S. Ct. Jun. 24, 2022)]  MORE >>

"In anticipation of the Dobbs decision, employers have extended travel and lodging benefits to abortion and/or other covered medical care that may be hard to access due to state law or policy, while others have expanded it to all covered medical services that are not available within a certain radius of the employee's home.... Some employers are exploring options that don't rely upon carrier or TPA capabilities and may offer more flexibility in design and administration." [Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Org., No. 19-1392 (S. Ct. Jun. 24, 2022)]  MORE >>

"[The Supreme Court] rejected the Sixth Circuit majority's 'disparate-impact' theory because the text of the Act's anti-discrimination provision 'does not ask about 'the effects of non-differentiating plan terms that treat all individuals equally.' ... And the text of the plan, according to the opinion, did not 'differentiate in the benefits provided to individuals with and without end-stage renal disease,' because it provided the same benefits, 'including the same outpatient dialysis benefits, to individuals with and without end-stage renal disease.' " [Marietta Memorial Hospital Employee Health Benefit Plan v. Da Vita Inc., No. 20-1641 (S. Ct. Jun. 21, 2022)]  MORE >>

"The Commission is particularly concerned that PBMs' efforts to realize maximum levels of manufacturer-paid rebates and fees (some or all of which are retained by the PBM) result in PBMs preferring higher cost, brand (i.e., patented) drug products on their formularies. The Commission is concerned that such PBM and manufacturer practices diminish the competitive market effect that lower-cost biosimilars and generic drugs would otherwise be having on overall drug pricing."  MORE >>

"Subscription care, an all-encompassing term for membership-style primary care services such as direct primary care (DPC), changes the incentives of the doctors and health care providers to be more proactive in managing the patient's health. The model is designed to be a bridge between modern medicine and a more traditional, less complex health care model."  MORE >>