In May, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report outlining findings on the Department of Labor’s (DOL’S) Employee Benefits Security Administration’s (EBSA’s) enforcement and oversight of employee benefit plans. The report highlights EBSA’s general oversight approach (e.g., the issues it tends to focus on), and includes a list of the most common types of violations uncovered during recent investigations. The list includes 5500 reporting violations, participant reporting failures, failure to follow terms of plan documents, and fiduciary breaches and prohibited transactions. The report also discusses the immediate and long-term challenges presented to employee benefit plans by the Covid-19 pandemic.
On June 11, the Department of Labor (DOL) has released its Spring 2021 Regulatory Agendas. Notable for employee health and welfare benefit plans are interim final rules for surprise medical billing, which are expected to be published in July (Part I) and October (Part II). In addition, proposed rules for provider nondiscrimination requirements are expected in January 2022.
On June 17, the Supreme Court issued a ruling rejecting a lawsuit claiming the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was unconstitutional. In the case Texas v. California, the plaintiffs argued that the entire law was unconstitutional due to a change made by Congress in 2017 Congress that reduced the tax for failure to carry health insurance (the “individual mandate”) to $0.00. The court decided in a 7-2 decision that the plaintiffs did not have standing to bring the case to court in the first place, so it was unnecessary to rule on other details of the case.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently updated its COVID-19 Technical Assistance Q&A to provide further clarification on what is permitted under the ADA and GINA. The guidance addresses a broad array of topics, including taking temperatures and testing for COVID in the workplace, handling employees with symptoms or exposure to COVID, confidential handling of medical information, reasonable accommodations, and vaccinations. Amwins Connect has summarized the guidance, focusing on the EEOC guidance related to incenting employees, and perhaps their family members, to be vaccinated for COVID. HIPAA nondiscrimination rules, or wellness rules, are also addressed.