Earlier this year, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) released a final rule under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), which prohibits discrimination in health programs and activities. The 2024 final rule includes new administrative requirements for covered entities (which may include group health plans to the extent the plan receives
Jennifer Rigterink
Jennifer Rigterink is senior counsel in the Labor Department and a member of the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group.
Jennifer focuses on a diverse array of tax and ERISA issues impacting employee benefits. Her wide-ranging practice encompasses qualified retirement plans and non-qualified arrangements, health and welfare benefits, and fringe benefit programs. She counsels single-employer and multiemployer clients on matters pertaining to plan administration, design and qualification, as well as regulatory, legislative and legal compliance.
In recent years, Jennifer has advised employers and plan sponsors with fiduciary and governance matters applicable to defined benefit plans and pension de-risking activities, including lump sum window programs, annuity purchases, and pension plan terminations.
Jennifer frequently counsels clients on health and welfare arrangements, with a particular focus on all matters relating to family building and reproductive health care benefits. Her experience also includes working with employers and plan sponsors on mental health parity compliance issues.
Prior to joining Proskauer, Jennifer clerked for Judge Jacques L. Wiener, Jr., in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Judge Yvette Kane in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
Final Mental Health Parity Regulations Released, with Plan Sponsor Action Required by 2025
Last week, the Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services finalized regulations implementing the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA). Although the final regulations step back from certain burdensome aspects of the proposed rules (which we blogged about here), compliance with the final rules will require action from…
Recent Health Plan Litigation Puts Family Building Benefits in Focus
Family building benefits continue to be top of mind as employers and plan sponsors implement new benefit programs to support family building journeys for their employees. At the same time, there have been a few recent lawsuits challenging health plan eligibility criteria for infertility treatment coverage. This post summarizes the recent litigation and challenges for…
More on Braidwood: ACA Preventive Services Mandate Remains Mostly in Place (For the Time Being)
At the end of June, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court order invalidating the Affordable Care Act preventive services mandate for “A” or “B” items and services recommended by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) on or after March 23, 2010, on the basis that the…
Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to FDA Approval of Mifepristone: Impact on Health Plans
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the drug mifepristone, which is used as part of a two-drug protocol to induce abortion. The Court ruled that the providers seeking to overturn the FDA approval did not have standing, because the providers were not directly…
District Court Dismisses Class Action Seeking Wilderness Therapy Benefits
A federal district court rebuffed putative class claims alleging that Cigna Health and Life Insurance Co. and two of the plans it administered violated the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (“MHPAEA”) by denying coverage for wilderness therapy. S.F. v. CIGNA Health & Life Ins. Co., 2024 WL 1912359 (D. Utah…
Goodbye “Five-Part Test”—DOL Finalizes New Investment Advice Fiduciary Rules
On April 23, 2024, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued final rules which expand what it means to provide fiduciary “investment advice” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”) and Section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). Though the final rules broaden the definition…
DOL Unveils Final Amendment to QPAM Exemption
On April 3, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) published in the federal register a final amendment to Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14 (the “QPAM Exemption”) that makes considerable changes to the exemption’s conditions (the “Final Amendment”). Although the Final Amendment trims back some of the more onerous requirements floated in the proposed…
Agencies Update Guidance on Group Health Plan Contraceptive Coverage Requirements
The Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services (the “Departments”) recently issued guidance for group health plans outlining a “therapeutic equivalence” medical management technique for required preventive services coverage of contraceptives. The guidance, which was issued in the form of FAQs that can be downloaded here, builds on previous FAQs addressing required…
Notice 2024-02: IRS Offers Guidance on (Some) SECURE 2.0 Questions
Approximately one year after Congress enacted the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (“SECURE 2.0”), the IRS issued Notice 2024-02, which addresses SECURE 2.0 implementation issues and extends the plan amendment deadline. Although Notice 2024-02 offers helpful guidance for employers and plan administrators, it does not include hotly anticipated guidance on SECURE 2.0 overpayment and…