Last week, the U.S. Departments of Labor and Treasury issued a Joint Notice requiring the extension of certain benefit plan deadlines for individuals affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton and Tropical Storm Helene.[1] The deadline extensions echo relief issued during the COVID-19 pandemic, but apply to a more limited group of individuals. The
HIPAA Reproductive Health Care Rule: HHS Publishes Model Attestation
As discussed in our prior blog post, on April 26, 2024, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) at the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued final regulations (“Reproductive Health Care Rule”) under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) limiting the uses and disclosures of protected health information (“PHI”) in…
Final HIPAA Privacy Rule Increases Protection of Reproductive Health Care Data
The Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) at the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) recently issued final regulations (“Reproductive Health Care Rule”) under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) that narrow the permitted uses and disclosures of protected health information (“PHI”) in the context of an individual seeking, obtaining, providing…
EEOC Grapples with Proposed Rule Comments on Wellness Program; Additional Guidance Expected Soon
As we previously reported here, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released Proposed Rules on April 16, 2015 to provide guidance under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on permissible employer incentives for employee participation in wellness programs. Comments on the proposed rules were due on or before June 19, 2015. The EEOC received…
EEOC’s Proposed Wellness Regulations Add Burdensome Notice Requirement; Still Prohibit Mandatory HRAs
On April 16, 2015, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released proposed regulations covering wellness programs that involve disability-related inquiries or medical examinations. The release of the proposed regulations follows months of EEOC enforcement actions against employers alleging that wellness programs sponsored by the employers violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) despite compliance with 2013 regulations jointly issued by the Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that permitted such programs under ERISA and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). With a few notable exceptions (described below), the proposed regulations are somewhat consistent with the existing DOL guidance on employer-sponsored wellness programs. However, the EEOC has requested comments on multiple topics that could significantly alter the regulatory requirements.
HIPAA Certificates Are No Longer Required As of January 1, 2015
Effective January 1, 2015, group health plans and insurers are no longer required to issue a certificate of creditable coverage (“HIPAA Certificate”) to individuals who lost group health plan coverage. (See final regulations here). As a reminder, HIPAA Certificates were used by individuals to prove that they had continuous health coverage under a prior…
What Does PPACA Stand For? Punitive Penalties Are Clearly Authorized
A recently posted IRS Q&A raises the specter of serious penalties for non-compliance with the Affordable Care Act. The context of the question relates to the consequences to employers that do not establish a health insurance plan for their own employees, but instead reimburse them for premiums they pay for other health insurance. The IRS…
Final Wellness Program Regulations Issued
On May 29, 2013, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury (the “Departments”) issued final regulations on implementing and expanding employment-based wellness programs. The rules set forth in the final regulations remain largely unchanged from the proposed rules issued on November 20, 2012. For example, as provided for in the proposed rules, the final regulations increase the maximum permissible reward under a health-contingent wellness program offered in connection with a group health plan from 20 percent to 30 percent of the cost of coverage. The final regulations also increase the maximum permissible reward to 50 percent for wellness programs designed to prevent or reduce tobacco use. http://www.proskauer.com/publications/client-alert/new-guidance-on-wellness-programs-issued/. However, a few points and clarifications are particularly noteworthy: