Dec. 5, 2024. "Although many covered entities ... have already begun planning and preparing to implement Section 1557, this letter is intended to assist covered entities in understanding and fulfilling their obligations under these provisions. This letter outlines key requirements for language access, which must be fully implemented by July 5, 2025."  MORE >>

"Covered Entities and Business Associates, when receiving a request for PHI related to reproductive health care, must obtain a signed attestation that the use or disclosure is not for one of the prohibited purposes ... The attestation requirement applies when the request is for: [1] Health oversight activities; [2] Judicial and administrative proceedings; [3] Law enforcement purposes; [4] Disclosures to coroners or medical examiners."  MORE >>

"Effective July 1, 2025, the new Alaska sick leave law ... requires the accrual of one [1] sick leave hour for every 30 hours worked.... [Effective] May 1, 2025 ... Missouri employees will accrue one [1] hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, with an annual usage cap ... Nebraska's new sick leave law is not set to take effect until October 1, 2025 ... and it shares some similarities with the Alaska and Missouri laws."  MORE >>

"Alaska: When employment begins or within 30 days of the law's effective date (whichever is later), employers must provide written notice of employee rights under the paid sick leave law.... Missouri: Within 14 calendar days of employment beginning or on 4/15/25 (whichever is later), employers must provide written notice of employee rights under the paid sick leave law.... Nebraska: When employment begins or by 9/1/25, employers must provide written notice to employees of their rights under the paid sick leave law."  MORE >>

"[T]he Connecticut Department of Labor has published important guidance regarding these wide-ranging changes ... Two Different '120-Day' Rules in the Amended Law ... [E]mployers cannot require documentation of paid sick leave use from employees.... Ensuring compliance with existing PTO policies ... Carrying over or paying out."  MORE >>

"This article explores the tools available to employers to manage FMLA leave and provides practical steps employers can take to combat abuse.... [1] The medical certification ... [2] Additional medical opinions & recertification ... [3] Accurate documentation ... [4] Surveillance ... [5] Remedial steps."  MORE >>

"[M]embers [of the National Council of Insurance Legislators] considered a draft resolution that calls for Congress to change ERISA to let state policymakers 'enact more meaningful state healthcare reforms.' ... The drafters want Congress to give state legislatures and regulators some ability to regulate health coverage provisions at self-insured health plans sponsored by single-state employers."  MORE >>

"Total premiums (combined employer costs and employee contributions) were generally lower for small firms than large firms in 2023.... Small-firm employees in most states contributed a larger share of the premium for family coverage than large-firm employees did. The average annual family premium contribution for workers nationally in 2023 was $7,529 at small firms and $6,796 at large firms.... The average annual family deductible nationally in 2023 was $5,074 at small companies and $3,547 at large ones."  MORE >>

31 pages. "From 2020 to 2023, cancer treatment rates increased in patients aged 18 to 49. The greatest increase was 11.7 percent in patients aged 18 to 29 ... By comparison, the increase in patients aged 50 to 59 was 5.5 percent ... Among patients aged 18 to 49 diagnosed with cancer in 2022, the median allowed amount3 for all medical services received during the initial 12 months after their diagnosis was more than $8,400. That is almost eight times higher than the median allowed amount for similarly aged patients without cancer who received at least one medical service from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023. "  MORE >>

"[The ACA] makes abundantly clear in the statute, the only way to tell if an employer's offer of coverage to an employee is affordable is to review the employee's household income. The IRS continues to not review the employee's household income before sending out ESRP penalties! This is abhorrent to anyone who believes in a just application of the law and must be corrected immediately."  MORE >>