Employee Benefits Blog

What’s Old Is New Again: HHS Proposes to Reinstate and Expand Transgender Nondiscrimination Rules

Since it was enacted in 2010, Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (“Section 1557”) has prohibited discrimination in covered health programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex. As we have previously reported, the application of Section 1557 has proven controversial with several competing regulations and numerous […]

September 2, 2022 | 2 min read | Tagged: 1557, ACA, biden, health program, HHS, nondiscrimination, NPRM, Obama, transgender, Trump

Matthew P. Chiarello Partner

Reassigning Section 1557: Trump Administration Proposes Reversal of Transgender Benefits Rule

In 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office of Civil Rights issued final regulations implementing the nondiscrimination provisions of the Affordable Care Act (“Section 1557”), which prohibit the categorical refusal of health coverage to transgender participants and require that individuals be treated consistent with their self-selected gender identity. These regulations drew sustained […]

June 10, 2019 | 2 min read | Tagged: 1557, ACA, EEOC, HHS, transgender, transgender benefits, Trump

Matthew P. Chiarello Partner

Russell M. Johnson Former Associate

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 for Civil Rights (“OCR”), appears to be unchanging in its previous course. In the first […]

May 9, 2017 | 2 min read | Tagged: audit, audits, desk audit, ePHI, health reform, HHS, HIPAA, OCR, phase 1, phase 2, phase 3, Severino, Trump

Allison B. Bans Counsel

Update – A Rule Deferred: Department of Labor Delays Implementation of Fiduciary Rule

As we previously reported in our February 16, 2017 blog post, “A Rule Deferred: Department of Labor Delays Implementation of Fiduciary Rule,” the DOL anticipated delaying the effective date of the fiduciary rule by 180 days. However, on March 1, 2017, the DOL proposed to delay the fiduciary rule by 60 days, citing the potentially […]

March 16, 2017 | 2 min read | Tagged: BIC, BICE, delay, DOL, executive memorandum, fiduciary rule, Field Assistance Bulletin, Trump

Kerry E. Parker Former Associate

Trumping the Affordable Care Act? Not So Fast – Impact of Executive Order on Employers Unclear

On January 20, 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order (“Minimizing the Economic Burden of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Pending Repeal,” hereinafter referred to as the “Order”) relating to the future of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). The stated goal is to direct the agencies (IRS, HHS, and DOL) to waive or […]

February 7, 2017 | 2 min read | Tagged: ACA, defer, DOL, eo, Executive order, HHS, IRS, Obamacare, PPACA, Section 6055, Section 6056, Trump

Kerry E. Parker Former Associate

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 there are significant penalties for noncompliance; and (2) for the reasons stated below complete repeal […]

December 15, 2016 | 2 min read | Tagged: ACA, administration, Congress, preexisting condition, repeal, Trump

Allison B. Bans Counsel