"Form 720 and full payment of the PCORI fees are due by July 31 of each year, and generally cover plan years that end during the preceding calendar year. For plan years ending in 2024, the PCORI fees are due by July 31, 2025."  MORE >>

"The 2024 Rule is not currently enforced due to litigation and agency reconsideration. Employers must comply with the 2013 Rule and the CAA. Enhanced requirements from the 2024 Rule are on hold but may return in future rulemaking. State enforcement may vary; fully insured plans must monitor both federal and state requirements. Continue to perform and document NQTL comparative analyses and prepare for further regulatory updates."  MORE >>

"As of January 1, 2025, all New York employers must grant an additional 20 hours of paid prenatal leave, on top of sick leave. To align with the new statewide law, the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) recently amended its Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA) rules to address prenatal leave in connection with the City's enforcement of ESSTA. The amended ESSTA Rules will take effect on July 2, 2025."  MORE >>

"New York City's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection proposed amended rules ... [which] will go into effect on July 2, 2025 ... [and which] impose additional requirements beyond the state Paid Prenatal Leave Law ... The DCWP published an updated Notice of Employee Rights to include the right to paid prenatal leave."  MORE >>

"On June 30th, Governor Newsom signed AB 116, the health omnibus bill, as part of the 2025-2026 state budget. It includes a provision to delay the implementation of SB 729 to January 1, 2026 (originally to take effect July 1, 2025)."  MORE >>

"[T]he Supreme Court has upheld the authority of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force ... The ruling preserves the ACA's preventive care mandate, meaning employer-sponsored health plans must continue to cover Task Force-recommended services without cost sharing.... [T]here may still be exemptions from ACA mandates for employers with sincerely held religious beliefs." [Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, Inc., No. 24-316 (S. Ct. Jun. 27, 2025)]  MORE >>

"The Supreme Court held that Task Force members are inferior officers whose appointment by the Secretary of HHS is consistent with the Appointments Clause.... The court held that ... the Secretary has properly exercised his appointment authority. As a result, non-grandfathered health plans must continue to provide first-dollar coverage for all items or services that receive an 'A' or 'B' rating by the Task Force." [Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, Inc., No. 24-316 (S. Ct. Jun. 27, 2025)]  MORE >>

"The court decisively rejected the hospitals' claim that Cigna was legally obligated to pay the 'full value' of emergency services provided on an out-of-network basis -- even absent any contract between the parties. The decision reinforces the boundaries of federal and state healthcare mandates and declines to impose broader quasi-contractual duties on insurers in the absence of statutory language or a preexisting contractual relationship." [AMISUB (SFH), Inc. v. Cigna Health & Life Ins. Co., No. 23-5714 (6th Cir. July 1, 2025)]  MORE >>

"[The judge] issued a temporary restraining order June 30, hours before Iowa's law, Senate File 383, was set to take effect July 1. The order will stay in place until a July 14 court hearing to consider the issue further." [Iowa Association of Business and Industry v. Ommen, No. 25-0211 (S.D. Iowa Jun. 30, 2025)]  MORE >>

"Employers were previously required to revise their HIPAA policies, procedures, and training materials as of Dec. 22, 2024, to account for the new category of prohibited use or disclosure of Protected Health Information. Those changes should now be undone, reverting to the pre-2024 requirements." [Purl v. HHS, No. 24-0228 (N.D. Tex. Jun. 18, 2025)]  MORE >>

"Although many acknowledge that ICHRAs can significantly cut costs — often by 20% or more — some skeptics argue that they merely shifts expenses rather than driving meaningful change. If viewed solely as a budgeting mechanism, this critique might hold weight. However, an ICHRA is far more than a cost-cutting exercise."  MORE >>

"By July 31, employers that sponsor self-funded medical plans must report and pay their PCORI fee. By July 31, employers that sponsor calendar-year employee benefit plans that are subject to ERISA must file a Form 5500 (unless an exception applies) or request an extension by filing a Form 5558."  MORE >>

"The CASA decision let stand the Ryan decision and similar federal district court opinions that have vacated federal regulations in reliance on the authority vested in federal district courts under the APA.... For now, Ryan remains on appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and a current stay of the appeal expires in early July. It remains to be seen whether the FTC will withdraw its appeal following expiration of the stay." [Ryan LLC v. Federal Trade Commission, No. 24-0986 (N.D. Tex. Aug. 20, 2024; on appeal to 5th Cir. No. 24-10951)]  MORE >>