"[This article discusses what might] cause a travel benefit reimbursement program to become an 'employer payment plan' in violation of the requirements of the [ACA] market reforms, and how employers might structure a benefit to avoid application of those ACA rules.... While the approaches outlined [in this article] may provide compliant methods ... [they also rely] significantly on sub-regulatory guidance from the IRS and DOL."  MORE >>

"Expenses related to a legal abortion qualify as a Section 213(d) medical expense.... However, many employers wish to provide abortion-related transportation/lodging/meal expenses more broadly than what qualifies as a medical expense. Employer reimbursement of non-medical abortion-related expenses will have to be reimbursed outside the HRA as taxable income to the employee."  MORE >>

"San Francisco has significantly expanded its Family Friendly Workplace Ordinance to guarantee flexible or predictable work arrangements for employees with qualifying caregiver responsibilities when the employee provides notice of their preferred arrangement, unless the employer can demonstrate an undue hardship to the employer."  MORE >>

"Self-funded plans recently won a significant victory at the Supreme Court ... [when the Court] ruled that a plan that treats all outpatient dialysis providers as out of network providers and fixes a consistent reimbursement rate for outpatient dialysis does not violate the Medicare Secondary Payer Rules (MSPR). This gives plan sponsors additional flexibility in dealing with outpatient dialysis expenses." [Marietta Memorial Hospital Employee Health Benefit Plan v. DaVita Inc., No. 20-1641 (S. Ct. Jun. 21, 2022)]  MORE >>

"The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ... reversed a district court's dismissal of a claim for breach of fiduciary duty based on ERISA's 'ministerial function' exception. This holding concludes that the employer (Wal-Mart) indisputably exercised control over the Plan's assets as it handled the premium payments in question, thus acting as a fiduciary.... The language of the employer's Summary Plan Description may significantly mitigate its potential liability." [Chelf v. Prudential Ins. Co., No. 20-6097 (6th Cir. Apr. 12, 2022)]  MORE >>

"Some companies are trying to create workarounds for employees in states with restrictive abortion laws by providing benefits that would allow them to travel out-of-state to access abortion service ... [E]mployment attorneys say those efforts will occur amid a rapidly shifting legal landscape.... [T]he growing patchwork of state restrictions can't simply be boiled down to states that ban abortion and states that don't ... Employers offering travel benefits to their employees are also at risk of being sued[.]"  MORE >>