"While a plan administered by a covered TPA is not subject to the rules by extension, the preamble devotes some discussion to liability for discriminatory plan design that may lead to changes in the way self-funded plans and TPAs currently operate and document responsibility for plan design decisions."  MORE >>

"New York employers are now required to provide up to 30 minutes of paid break time each time an employee has a reasonable need to express breast milk. While New York employers have been required to provide breaks to nursing mothers since ... 2007, this amendment to the New York Labor Law significantly expands this requirement."  MORE >>

"The Guardian Flight case, which was brought by two air ambulance providers, found the NSA lacks a judicial remedy in the event that a health insurer refuses to pay the reimbursement amount established by the independent review process. This ruling, if upheld, throws a huge monkey wrench into the elaborate protections the NSA was enacted to provide. The decision in Guardian Flight makes the IDR process illusory, thus leaving providers with no means to collect unpaid charges for services rendered." [Guardian Flight LLC v. Health Care Service Corp., No. 23-1861 (N.D. Tex. May 30, 2024; appeal to 5th Cir. filed Jun. 24, 2024, No. 24-10561)]  MORE >>

"With the national shortage of primary care physicians reaching 17,637 in 2023 and projected to worsen, more Americans are paying for the privilege of seeing a doctor -- on top of insurance premiums that cover most services a doctor might provide or order. Many people seeking a new doctor are calling a long list of primary care practices only to be told they're not taking new patients."  MORE >>

"The majority's frequent reference to [Skidmore v. Swift (1944)] and use of language from that decision suggests that, going forward, the Court expects lower courts to look to Skidmore to guide their consideration of an agency's preferred interpretation of an ambiguous statute. Skidmore gave its name to a much weaker form of deference that does not require courts to defer to agencies.... [T]he majority reasoned that statutory ambiguities do not call for policy expertise or draw judges into making policy -- they call for the exercise of legal judgment. This distinction exists because, the majority stressed, courts, not agencies, have expertise in interpreting statutes and have done so for centuries." [LSB811189 Jun. 28, 2024] [Loper Bright Enterprises, Inc. v. Raimondo, Sec. of Comm., No. 22-451 (S. Ct. Jun. 28, 2024)]  MORE >>