Santa is not the only person who should be making a list and checking it twice this December. All sponsors of self-insured medical plans should also make sure that they double-check their year end to do lists. Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), keeping your health plan in compliance seems more and more difficult each year. We know you ...
The IRS released its annual update for the cost-of-living adjustments for 2025. Similar to the adjustments made last year, there are widespread increases for 2025. As you can see from our chart below, almost all IRS limits were affected by this year’s cost-of-living adjustments. Although the catch-up contribution limit for individuals age ...
In a recent court ruling, the US Department of Labor (DOL) prevailed against corporate directors and shareholders for claims related to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) transaction. Most ESOPs are established through arm's length transactions that comply with the Employment Retirement Income Security Act’s(ERISA) fiduciary ...
Last month, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury (Departments), issued the highly anticipated final rule under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA). The original text of the MHPAEA requires group health plans to offer mental health and substance use disorder (MH/SUD) care on the ...
Effective January 1, 2025, Kentucky has new law regulating pharmacy benefit managers (“PBMs”). Earlier this year, the Governor of Kentucky signed SB 188 into law, making Kentucky the latest state to pass legislation regulating PBMs. The new law applies to PBM contracts issued, renewed, extended, or amended on or after January 1, 2025.
SB ...
By: Sherry Porter
The Department of Labor, Department of Treasury and Department of Health and Human Services (the “Departments”) issued 536 pages of guidance last week to help plan sponsors comply with the nonquantitative treatment limitations (NQTLs) rules under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). The main goal ...
For the first time in four years, the IRS adjusted the affordability percentage used for the shared responsibility penalties. The IRS recently announced that the affordability percentage for 2025 will be 9.02%. This is up from 8.39% in 2024. For employers this means that if you set your employee premium costs from last year right at the ...
By: Sherry Porter
The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) of the U.S. Department of Labor has jurisdiction over the enforcement and interpretation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). ERISA governs most private employer sponsored employee benefit plans, like group health plans, retirement plans ...
By: Sherry Porter
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) made many changes to the way the American health care system worked. One such change requires insurers to use a certain amount of insurance premiums to provide medical care (at least 80% in the small group market, 85% in the large group market) effectively limiting the ...
The retirement plan industry has been wrestling with the changes to required minimum distribution (RMD) provisions made by the SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0. One issue in particular has caused considerable confusion. Section 401(a)(9) of the Code was amended to provide that, if a retirement plan participant dies after distributions have begun ...