"As of July 2, 2025, New York City's new rules for paid prenatal personal care leave are in effect.... These new requirements build on New York State's law ... New York City's rules add several important obligations for employers with employees working in New York City, whether full-time, part-time or temporary."  MORE >>

"What's changing on January 1, 2026? ... Employers with 15 or more employees will be required to provide employees with 72 hours of paid sick leave, earned at a rate of 1 hour for every 30 hours worked. Employees can roll over unused sick leave, but only for up to 72 hours each year.... Smaller employers -- those with fewer than 15 employees -- will be required to offer at least 48 hours of paid sick leave per year."  MORE >>

"As a result of the court's ruling, it appears that plans are no longer required, and may not be permitted, to apply the presumption of lawfulness or to obtain an attestation before disclosing PHI related to reproductive healthcare in response to criminal, civil or administrative investigations. Further, no updates would be required to plans' HIPAA privacy policies, notices of privacy practices and business associate agreements to reflect the disclosure restrictions with respect to reproductive healthcare PHI." [Purl v. HHS, No. 24-0228 (N.D. Tex. Jun. 18, 2025)]  MORE >>

"In determining the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their Commerce Clause claim, the court held that Act 624 discriminates against out-of-state companies.... The court further noted that Arkansas already has PBM laws in place that sufficiently address the state's concern of 'curtailing plaintiffs' business tactics and minimizing the conflicts of interest inherent in PBM-affiliated pharmacies.' " [Express Scripts, Inc. v. Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy, No. 25-0520, 25-0524 (E.D. Ark. Jul. 28, 2025)]  MORE >>

"President Trump sent letters Thursday to 17 of the world's largest drug companies, telling them to take more steps to slash the prices of prescription drugs to match the lowest price in certain foreign countries. The letters represent an escalation of the administration's push for lower drug prices by launching a 'most favored nation' model, which ties the prices of prescription medicines in the U.S. to the lowest found among comparably wealthy nations."  MORE >>

"More than 800 prescription drug access and affordability proposals were introduced across all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and the territories in this year's legislative sessions.... At least 17 states introduced bills to prohibit spread pricing for certain state-regulated plans.... Nearly 30 states are calling for more transparency into drug pricing.... While lawmakers in at least 12 states are seeking to expand coverage for GLP-1 agonists, a smaller number are seeking to limit it, with cost containment in mind.... More than half of states have introduced legislation to reduce out-of-pocket costs for consumers."  MORE >>

"One-half of private health plan enrollees were unsure as to whether their health plan provides coverage for GLP-1s. Just over one-quarter (28 percent) reported that their health plan covers GLP-1s, while one-fifth said that the plan does not provide coverage.... Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) thought they should be covered, while 12 percent did not think they should be covered. One-quarter were unsure if GLP-1s should be covered."  MORE >>

28 pages. "Building upon historical enrollment and financial patterns, the individual market continues to experience greater change than the group health insurance markets. While the individual market has experienced significant enrollment gains in the last five years, this incremental enrollment could quickly erode in 2026 with the expiration of the enhanced premium subsidies introduced by ARPA in 2021, and other regulatory and pending legislative changes."  MORE >>

"On June 30, the DOL issued a Direct Final Rule (DFR) announcing the removal of several long-standing ERISA Interpretive Bulletins ... Interpretive Bulletin 75-2 ... Interpretive Bulletin 75-6 ... Interpretive Bulletin 75-10 ... The DOL isn't changing any rules here -- they're just pruning old ones that no longer apply."  MORE >>

"Although the original House version of the bill provided for extensive health care changes and pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reforms, the final OBBB contains only a few provisions that affect employee benefit plans.... [1] High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) enhancements ... [2] Increased dependent care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) limits ... [3] Tax-deferred savings accounts for children -- 'Trump Accounts'."  MORE >>