"[1] What abortion or medical travel expense does your plan currently cover? ... [2] Are you willing to take the risk of an aiding and abetting lawsuit or criminal charge? ... [3] How can you avoid a Mental Health Parity violation? ... [4] Do you want to provide abortion travel benefits under your plan to employees who are not otherwise enrolled in the plan and if so, how can you structure that? ... [5] What tax consequences result from abortion travel benefits provided under your plan? ... [6] Is there an upside to offering abortion travel benefits through a group health plan?"  MORE >>

"Conflicts and confusion are likely to develop over the interplay between [ERISA] and other federal statutes on the one hand and the new or revived state law restrictions on the other hand.... it is possible that participants could sue if they believe the special treatment for abortion-related benefits violates laws such as the Mental Health Parity Act, or if a plan's resulting non-compliance with a law disadvantages them in some way including through tax consequences.... States (or in some cases, third-party private citizens) might investigate and ultimately sue plans and their sponsors alleging that they are violating the state anti-abortion laws."  MORE >>

"Consideration should be given to whether there is a mental health parity violation if an arrangement reimburses for travel related to an abortion and other medical/surgical procedures but does not reimburse for travel related to mental health benefits.... If an employee is enrolled in a high deductible health plan, the employee cannot be reimbursed for the costs of an abortion and/or related travel until the deductible has been met.... [A] taxable reimbursement arrangement may provide the greatest flexibility and avoid compliance issues."  MORE >>

24 pages. "This report provides a detailed review of the commercial health insurance industry's financial results in 2020 and evaluates changes in the market's expense structure and enrollment relative to prior years. In addition, based on calendar year 2021 statutory financial statements and first quarter calendar year 2022, the report discusses emerging financial trends for the commercial health insurance markets."  MORE >>

"The Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) reported that total medical costs for those in employer-sponsored health insurance went down by 8.9% in 2020, and out-of-pocket costs declined by 11%.... Unit prices continue to rise and pose the largest threat to health care affordability. Efforts to steer members to lower cost providers can help lower unit cost. Consolidation of providers has decreased leverage to gain discounts."  MORE >>

"Limits for qualified transportation fringe benefits and health FSAs are expected to rise significantly in 2023, thanks to the dramatic increase in C-CPI-U for the year (an eye-popping 7.0% for the 10 months ending June 2022). The inflationary increases are the largest since indexing on the transportation fringe benefit began in 1999 and more than three times as large as the average annual increase."  MORE >>

"[A] plan sponsor can give itself too much discretion and thereby transform the plan into more of an ad hoc arrangement than an ERISA welfare benefit plan. This column looks at some recent case developments that examine how this balance can be struck in the context of severance plans."  MORE >>

"Organizations can use volunteering programs to raise employee engagement and promote retention if they think strategically about how this benefit is offered, monitored and celebrated. Employers can also be proactive in helping to guide employee volunteerism but should ensure that these efforts align with corporate goals, while also honoring and supporting employees' personal volunteer interests."  MORE >>