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About this Blog
Welcome to the Snell & Wilmer Benefits Blog. We will be posting about current employee benefits and executive compensation topics and issues. We invite you to contact the authors with your thoughts or questions.Blog Contributors
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New Plan Year, New Wellness Program – Some Things to Keep in Mind
As a follow-up to our recent blog Count Down to Open Enrollment – Some Quick Thoughts, below is a little more detail on how seemingly simple wellness program design changes can have significant legal consequences. HIPAA – Employers feeling extra … Continue reading
Posted in Employee Benefits, Health & Welfare Plans, Health Care Reform
| Tagged ADA, ADEA, CODE, EEOC, GINA, HIPAA, incentive, surcharge, tobacco, wellness
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The Family Medical Leave Act and Benefit Plans: What comes first – the Law or the Employer’s Established Policy?
An employer that employs 50 or more employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year is subject to the Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”). Therefore, often when I … Continue reading
Posted in Employee Benefits, Health & Welfare Plans
| Tagged coverage, family leave, FMLA, group health plan, leave
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Wellness Rules Under the ADA – Will There Ever Be Certainty?
We previously blogged about the EEOC’s final rules, published in the Federal Register on May 17, 2016, that explain how the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) applies to employer sponsored wellness programs. These rules clarified when an employee health program, … Continue reading
Posted in Employee Benefits, Health & Welfare Plans, Health Care Reform
| Tagged AARP, ADA, EEOC, regulations, wellness
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Air Ambulance Services – What Does Your Plan Cover?
Due to the increased litigation of air ambulance claims, employers may want to review their plan language to see whether their group health plan covers air ambulance services, and if so, to better understand the terms of the coverage. Below … Continue reading
Posted in Employee Benefits, Health & Welfare Plans
| Tagged air ambulance, claims, group health plan, healt and welfare, plan
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New Disability Claims Regulations Take Effect for All Plans April 1, 2018
As noted in our previous blog post, The New Disability Claims Regulations: They Don’t Only Apply to Disability Plans, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued regulations that revise the ERISA claims procedure regulations for all employee benefit plans that provide … Continue reading
Posted in Employee Benefits, Health & Welfare Plans, Health Care Reform
| Tagged ACA, Affordable Care Act, claims, disability, DOL, EBSA, ERISA, regulations
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The New Disability Claims Regulations: They Don’t Only Apply to Disability Plans
Introduction The Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued regulations that revise the ERISA claims procedure regulations for employee benefit plans that provide disability benefits (the “New Disability Claims Regulations” or “New Regulations”). They are based on the Affordable Care Act’s (the … Continue reading
Posted in Employee Benefits, Health & Welfare Plans, Qualified Retirement Plans
| Tagged appeals, claims, claims and appeals, denial, disability, indepent review, regulations, review, Social Security, SSA, treatment
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Recent Mental Health Parity Guidance — A Good Reminder to Review Your Health Plan for Compliance
The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (“MHPAEA”) generally requires that the financial requirements and treatment limitations that apply to mental health and substance use disorder (“MH/SUD”) benefits cannot be more restrictive than the financial requirements and … Continue reading
Posted in Employee Benefits, Health & Welfare Plans, Health Care Reform
| Tagged ACA, Affordable Care Act, Cures Act, disclosure, DOL, investigation, Mental Health Parity, MHPAEA
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2017 HIPAA Enforcement – Appears Not To Be Slowing Down
To state the obvious, there has been some uncertainty regarding how the Trump Administration will affect federal agency enforcement efforts. However, at least, in regard to HIPAA Privacy and Security, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office … Continue reading
Posted in Employee Benefits, Health & Welfare Plans, HIPAA
| Tagged audit, audits, desk audit, ePHI, health reform, HHS, HIPAA, OCR, phase 1, phase 2, phase 3, Severino, Trump
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HIPAA Checkup – How Good Are Your Policies and Procedures?
Although it is not a new requirement, it is important and therefore worth a reminder: HIPAA requires covered entities to establish and implement written policies and procedures that are consistent with its Privacy and Security Rules. As discussed in an … Continue reading
Posted in Employee Benefits, Health & Welfare Plans
| Tagged audit, e-PHI, HHS audits, HIPAA, PHI, Policies and Procedures
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Will the ACA Stay or Will it Go?
After surviving two Supreme Court cases and numerous repeal efforts, the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) is in jeopardy again. Despite the law’s uncertainty, employers may want to continue their compliance efforts because: (1) the ACA is currently the law and … Continue reading
Posted in Employee Benefits, Health & Welfare Plans, Health Care Reform
| Tagged ACA, administration, Congress, preexisting condition, repeal, Trump
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