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National Review of HIPAA Compliance Finds Rampant Confusion and Mistakes

Excerpt: Four years after the privacy rule went into effect, hospitals and other covered entities (CEs) are struggling with basic concepts that underlie compliance, such as what the 'minimum necessary' standard means. Mistrust among CEs is rampant, and many have implemented business practices in the name of privacy and security that have no basis in law.

National Review of HIPAA Compliance Finds Rampant Confusion and Mistakes

National Association of Insurance Commissioners to Review Pharmacy Benefit Management in 2016

"[T]he National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) ... 2016 work plan for its Health Insurance and Managed Care (B) Committee ... [includes] among other things, 'review and, if necessary, consider revisions to the Health Carrier Prescription Drug Benefit Management Model Act (#22) -- adopted in 2003 -- to address issues related to: [1] transparency, accuracy and disclosure regarding prescription drug formularies and formulary changes during a policy year; [2] accessibility of prescription drug benefits using a variety of pharmacy options; and [3] tiered prescription drug formularies and discriminatory benefit design.' ... [C]ommittee members indicated support for soliciting initial public comments from interested stakeholders in January, and to begin periodic conference calls in February to consider changes to the model."

Developing a Review Process for Implementing National Health Care Reform

"[GFOA] recommends that state and local government employers that sponsor group health plans implement a process for reviewing federal health-care benefit requirements at least annually. Doing so will allow employers to plan ahead, allowing them to use the most cost-effective approach to ensuring compliance while offering appropriate benefit levels and options to employees and retirees."

Book Review: One Nation, Uninsured -- Why the U.S. Has No National Health Insurance

Excerpt: Tens of millions of Americans cannot afford basic care. It's a serious problem -- but not, Jill Quadagno reminds us in One Nation, Uninsured , a particularly novel one. On the contrary, similar health care 'crises' cropped up repeatedly during the 20th century, always playing out in the same unfulfilling way. First, anxiety over affordable health care leads progressive politicians to push for universal health insurance. Then the campaign fails.

New York Senate Passes First-In-The-Nation Bill Requiring Mandatory Review and Revocation Period for All Severance Agreements

"[The No Severance Ultimatums Act (S 372) would require] employers to provide employees with at least 21 business days to review a separation agreement, and seven calendar days to revoke the separation agreement (meaning an agreement cannot become effective or enforceable until the revocation period has expired). While employees can voluntarily sign a separation agreement before the required consideration period expires, the revocation period is not waivable."

For Nation, a Mixed Review on Health -- Study of 50 States Finds

Excerpt: Scrape off the color on the red states and the blue states and underneath is a different way of looking at America's regional differences. There are the smoking states and the obesity states; the high-infant-mortality states and the stay-in-high-school states; the heart attack states and the killed-on-the-job states. Today, for the 15th time, a public health organization is releasing its assessment of the health of the nation, ..., as measured by a composite of 18 variables.

Text of Amicus Brief by ERISA Industry Committee Seeking Full Ninth Circuit Review of San Francisco Employer 'Play-or-Pay' Ordinance (PDF)

22 pages. Excerpt: This past Friday, October 31, 2008, The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) and the National Business Group on Health (NBGH) -- two organizations representing large, national employers providing health benefits to tens of millions of Americans -- filed an amicus brief supporting the Golden Gate Restaurant Association's call for a full Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals review of the city of San Francisco's controversial play or pay ordinance on employers.

Text of SEC National Exam Program Risk Alert: Retirement-Targeted Industry Reviews and Examinations Initiative (PDF)

"[SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE)] is launching a multi-year Retirement-Targeted Industry Reviews and Examinations (ReTIRE) Initiative.... OCIE, through the National Examination Program (NEP), will conduct examinations of SEC-registered investment advisers and broker-dealers (collectively, registrants) under the ReTIRE Initiative that will focus on certain higher-risk areas of registrants' sales, investment, and oversight processes, with particular emphasis on select areas where retail investors saving for retirement may be harmed.... NEP staff intends to focus on certain registered investment advisers and broker-dealers that provide services or sell investment products to retail investors. Examination focus areas include: reasonable basis for recommendations; conflicts of interest; supervision and compliance controls; and marketing and disclosure."

Supreme Court Will Review Setting of Withdrawal Liability Assumptions

"The court's review will be limited to one question: Must the plan use the actuarial assumptions most recently adopted before the 'measurement date' for determining withdrawal liability, or can the plan use assumptions adopted after the measurement date based on information that was available as of that date? The decision may have a significant effect on the calculation of withdrawal liability for all multiemployer plans across the country." [M & K Employee Solutions, LLC v. Trustees of the IAM National Pension Fund, No. 22-7157 (D.C. Cir Feb. 9, 2024; cert. pet. granted Jun. 30, 2025 No. 23-1209)]