"Employer group health plan fiduciaries should continue to monitor IDR activity for their health plans and analyze reporting from their TPAs on IDR disputes involving the plan. Because of the significantly reduced administrative fee, fiduciaries should examine their TPA agreements and make sure the pricing is consistent with the lower amount.... [F]iduciaries should prepare for the new registration requirement, working with their TPAs to ensure timely compliance once the registry becomes available."  MORE >>

"The final rule requires plans and issuers to register in a new federal IDR registry, use standardized claim adjustment reason codes and remittance advice remark codes on remittance advice, and participate in a restructured 30-day open negotiation process conducted through the federal IDR portal[.]"  MORE >>

"Virginia previously required PSL only for home health workers. SB 199/HB 5 significantly expands coverage to nearly all employees in the Commonwealth."  MORE >>

"The New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA) is expanding in July 2026 ... [1] Employers with 15 to 30 employees will be covered by the law for the first time; [2] The minimum employment period prior to leave will be lowered from 12 months to 3 months; and [3] The required hours worked in the year prior to leave will be lowered from 1,000 to 250."  MORE >>

"An employee with a long disciplinary history asked his HR contact how to request FMLA leave and was fired about two weeks later. The Sixth Circuit held that requesting FMLA paperwork is protected activity ... Temporal proximity alone wasn't enough. Two weeks between the FMLA inquiry and termination can support a prima facie inference of retaliation, but the court made clear it can't carry the pretext showing on its own." [Paris v. MacAllister Machiney Company, Inc., No. 25-1726 (6th Cir. May 14, 2026)]  MORE >>

"EPIC is projecting health plan trend to be between 7.5% [and] 9.5% again this year.... Employers are digging into where dollars are being spent without delivering real value which may be overlapping condition management solutions, misaligned incentives, unmanaged site‑of‑care utilization, or programs that sound promising but fail to reduce risk or trend. Instead of adding more solutions, the focus is shifting to making sure the right ones are in place and that every dollar spent has a purpose."  MORE >>

"Voice has become a major fraud risk as deepfakes, voice cloning, and social engineering make traditional call center verification methods easier to bypass. Knowledge-based authentication is no longer enough – a layered approach is needed to ensure voice-based attacks do not negatively impact the member experience."  MORE >>

"This In Focus examines [IRS] tax return data on HSA contributions to assess how HSA contribution amounts vary by source and adjusted gross income (AGI). These trends may inform congressional consideration of proposals to modify HSA eligibility, contribution limits, or the tax treatment of contributions. These data are available at the tax return level: a return can represent one or multiple individuals if the return is filed jointly with a spouse or includes dependents." [IF13244 Jun. 5, 2026]  MORE >>