"[1] ACA integration required ... [2] HSA eligibility ... [3] Section 105(h) nondiscrimination ... [4] PCORI fees ... [5] ACA reporting ... [6] COBRA cost of coverage ... [7] No premium reimbursement ... [8] No Medicare reimbursement ... [9] Domestic partner health plans ... [10] The standard GHP requirements."  MORE >>

"The FAQs include nine questions and answers about EAPs, including the requirements for an EAP, what qualifies as educational assistance, and the amount excludable from taxation under an EAP. The FAQs also specifically address reimbursement for student loans or debt related to educational expenses[.]"  MORE >>

"The PWFA is intended to serve as a gap filler. The law provides explicit protections for employees relating to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions where other federal and state statutory protections may not provide such coverage.... Training human resources professionals and management teams tasked with fielding accommodation requests will be critical in ensuring compliance with the PWFA and corresponding regulations."  MORE >>

"[T]he HIPAA RHC Rule's protections do not apply if the HIPAA Privacy Officer for the group health plan reasonably determines that the reproductive health care was not lawful under the circumstances (based on the law of the state in which the health care is provided).... Group health plans may presume that the health care provided was lawful, unless the group health plan has actual knowledge to the contrary or the person making the request provides factual information demonstrating a substantial factual basis that the health care was not lawful. "  MORE >>

"Plans that are subject to the rules must take specific administrative compliance measures that include designating an individual to coordinate compliance (if the employer has more than 15 employees), establishing written policies and procedures, and issuing notices to plan participants. The regulations address ... coverage for gender transition and gender-affirming care and the potential for bias in algorithms and other tools that assist in making health care and coverage decisions."  MORE >>

"The Chicago Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance is set to take effect on July 1, 2024, and the City's Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection has published its long-awaited interpretive rules. These final rules provide guidance on several questions unanswered by the Ordinance, such as its application to remote workers, requirements for written leave policies, permissible restrictions on an employee's ability to take leave, and recordkeeping requirements."  MORE >>

"Employers, health plans, and medical providers still face uncertainty over compliance and coverage of abortion drugs even after the US Supreme Court's recent dismissal of a lawsuit challenging mifepristone's approval temporarily resolved questions around patient access.... Wide-ranging state laws and the potential for another challenge to the drug's approval continue to pose a confusing web of regulations for clinicians and companies[.]"  MORE >>

"A May 8 ransomware attack against Ascension, a Catholic health system with 140 hospitals in at least 10 states, locked providers out of systems that track and coordinate nearly every aspect of patient care. They include its systems for electronic health records, some phones, and ones 'utilized to order certain tests, procedures and medications' ... Despite a precipitous rise in cyberattacks against the health sector in recent years, a weeks-long disruption of this magnitude is beyond what most health systems are prepared for[.]"  MORE >>

"[The FDA has] outlined principles for good ML practices for medical product development. ISPOR -- the professional society for health economics and outcomes research -- has published a good practices report for applying ML methods. The National Health Council published a Rubric to guide stakeholders to enhance patient centricity of processes across the health care ecosystem. These guidance documents provide a foundation to incorporate ethical guidelines and standards that are specific to insurers as they develop, select, and use ML tools that support their beneficiary coverage determinations."  MORE >>

"On Thursday, June 27, at 10:15 a.m., the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions ... will hold a hearing titled Examining the Policies and Priorities of the Employee Benefits Security Administration.... 'Instead of advancing initiatives to strengthen and improve employer-sponsored health care plans, the Employee Benefits Security Administration's (EBSA) imprudent regulatory efforts have saddled American workers with higher costs, fewer benefits, and less flexibility,' said Chairman [Bob Good (R-VA)]. ... The hearing will be live-streamed on the Committee's YouTube page."  MORE >>