Malerie Bulot
Associate
Malerie L. Bulot is an associate in the Labor & Employment Law Department and a member of the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group. She counsels clients on a myriad of issues related to employee retirement and health plans. Malerie assists single employer and multiemployer plans with legal compliance, plan administration, and design and qualification.
Malerie received her J.D. and diploma in comparative law, magna cum laude, from Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center, where she was a senior editor of the Louisiana Law Review and Order of the Coif. While at LSU, she served as a judicial extern to United States District Judge Shelly D. Dick, Middle District of Louisiana.
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We conclude our blog series on best practices in administering benefit claims with the three C’s: be clear, be consistent, and communicate. The key to effective benefit claim administration ultimately boils down to drafting and maintaining clear plan documents, implementing and enforcing plan terms consistently, and communicating clearly with plan participants and beneficiaries. First, all … Continue Reading
As we shifted focus last week from a plan’s administrative claims procedures to defending against a claim for benefits in court, we explained how a well-documented administrative record can enhance the chances of getting a case dismissed at the outset without the need for protracted litigation. This week, we offer three opportunities to further manage … Continue Reading
Up to now, our blog series has focused on best practices for implementing a plan’s claims and appeals procedure. We shift gears this week to see how following these best practices pays dividends if a participant’s (or beneficiary’s) claim is denied and the participant decides to pursue the claim for benefits in court (or, if … Continue Reading
When a plan administrator is attending to a benefit claim and thinks it is time to call in an attorney, are those discussions privileged and protected from disclosure to claimants? In this week’s blog, we take a look at some of those communications between attorneys and plan administrators and examine whether or not they are … Continue Reading
It’s Week #6, and we have turned the corner in our Top 10 Best Practices in Administering Benefit Claims. In case you missed any (or all) of the first five best practices, links to each of them appear below. This week we discuss how to distinguish an inquiry from a claim for benefits. The claims … Continue Reading
This week we discuss the importance of establishing good claims procedures and the benefits of following those procedures. A plan’s claims procedures should be spelled out clearly in both the plan document and the summary plan description (where the two documents are not one in the same). In addition to setting all of the applicable … Continue Reading
This week in our blog series on best practices in administering benefit claims, we discuss the importance of knowing and, importantly, understanding the laws governing benefit claim administration. Section 503 of ERISA sets forth the general guidelines for a plan’s claims and appeal procedures. It requires that a plan provide adequate written notice of the … Continue Reading
On September 30th, the IRS issued proposed regulations that establish safe harbors for compliance with the employer mandate in the context of individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements (or “ICHRAs”). These proposed regulations are important for employers that choose to offer ICHRAs and want to be sure they comply with the employer shared responsibility mandate requirements … Continue Reading
Our blog series on best practices in administering benefit claims has thus far stressed the importance of knowing and reading the plan document and summary plan description. This week, we take a look at a plan term that has been the subject of frequent dispute in health and welfare benefits claim litigation—interpretation of plan provisions … Continue Reading
Last week, we kicked off our blog series on the fundamentals of benefit claim administration with an explanation of how important it is to know and read your plan document. The plan document is the legally binding contract that describes each participant’s rights and benefits under the plan. It also guides the legal obligations and … Continue Reading
Our ERISA Practice Center blog posts often discuss many complex, and sometimes esoteric, substantive and procedural ERISA issues, as well as related agency guidance and case law. In this new ten-part blog series, however, we take a step away from the complex and esoteric in order to review some of the fundamentals of benefit claim … Continue Reading
As part of our ongoing series on the final regulations expanding the availability of health reimbursement accounts (“HRAs”), we discussed the newly-created Individual Coverage HRAs, which generally allow for employers to reimburse employees’ premiums for health coverage purchased on the individual market. As noted in the final regulations, the new Individual Coverage HRA is a … Continue Reading
As discussed in our June 18th blog entry, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury (collectively, the “Departments”) recently released final regulations expanding the use of health reimbursement arrangements (“HRAs”). Among the more important aspects of the final regulations was the reversal of long-standing Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) policy that HRAs or … Continue Reading
On June 13, 2019, the Department of Labor, together with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of the Treasury (collectively, the “Departments”), published final regulations designed to expand the use of health reimbursement arrangements (“HRAs”). The final regulations provide, in general, that HRAs may be used to (1) reimburse premiums for … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently proposed regulations that scale back nondiscrimination protections under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The new regulations, proposed on May 24, 2019, represent a marked shift in HHS’s policy by loosening the nondiscrimination requirements imposed on health plans and other entities and substantially … Continue Reading
One de-risking tool for employers with defined benefit pension liabilities is to allow participants to receive lump-sum distributions. Although lump sums result in a short-term cash drain, they reduce the plan’s long-term liability—reducing the sponsor’s exposure to contribution volatility. Over the last several years, there has been a question whether lump-sum cashouts may be offered … Continue Reading
Best Practices in Administering Benefit Claims #10 – The Three C’s
By Paul M. Hamburger, Russell Hirschhorn and Malerie Bulot on Posted in Benefit Claims
Best Practices in Administering Benefit Claims #9 – Managing Litigation
By Paul M. Hamburger, Russell Hirschhorn and Malerie Bulot on Posted in Benefit Claims
Best Practices in Administering Benefit Claims #8 – Facing Litigation of Benefit Claims
By Paul M. Hamburger, Russell Hirschhorn and Malerie Bulot on Posted in Benefit Claims
Best Practices in Administering Benefit Claims #7 – Understanding Attorney-Client Privilege in the Benefits Claims Process
By Paul M. Hamburger, Russell Hirschhorn and Malerie Bulot on Posted in Benefit Claims
Best Practices in Administering Benefit Claims #6 – Distinguishing an Inquiry from a Claim
By Paul M. Hamburger, Russell Hirschhorn and Malerie Bulot on Posted in Benefit Claims
Best Practices in Administering Benefit Claims #5 – Establishing (and Following) a Good Claims Process
By Paul M. Hamburger, Russell Hirschhorn and Malerie Bulot on Posted in Benefit Claims
Best Practices in Administering Benefit Claims #4 – Know (and Understand) the Law: Full and Fair Review
By Paul M. Hamburger, Russell Hirschhorn and Malerie Bulot on Posted in Benefit Claims
New HRA Regulations Part 5 – More on the Employer Shared Responsibility Mandate
By Damian A. Myers, Kaitlin Hulbert and Malerie Bulot on Posted in HRA
Best Practices in Administering Benefit Claims #3 – Dealing with Benefit Assignments
By Paul M. Hamburger, Russell Hirschhorn and Malerie Bulot on Posted in Benefit Claims
Best Practices in Administering Benefit Claims #2 – Know (and Read) Your SPD
By Paul M. Hamburger, Russell Hirschhorn and Malerie Bulot on Posted in Benefit Claims
Best Practices in Administering Benefit Claims #1 – Know (and Read) Your Plan Document
By Paul M. Hamburger, Russell Hirschhorn and Malerie Bulot on Posted in Benefit Claims
Digging into the New HRA Regulations, Part 3 – Premium Tax Credit and Employer Mandate Impact on Individual Coverage HRAs
By Damian A. Myers, Kaitlin Hulbert and Malerie Bulot on Posted in HRA
Digging into the New HRA Regulations Part 1 – Individual Coverage HRAs
By Damian A. Myers, Kaitlin Hulbert and Malerie Bulot on Posted in HRA
Departments Publish Final Regulations Expanding the Availability of HRAs
By Damian A. Myers, Kaitlin Hulbert and Malerie Bulot on Posted in HRA
HHS Proposes to Narrow Scope of Nondiscrimination Regulations under Affordable Care Act
By Damian A. Myers and Malerie Bulot on Posted in Affordable Care Act
IRS Reopens Opportunity to Cash Out Retirees in Pay Status—At Least For Now
By Seth Safra and Malerie Bulot on Posted in Uncategorized
