Tag: ERISA

Health Plans Should Learn New Rules to Prevent Balance Billing

Thanks to cost pressures exacerbated by the Affordable Care Act, narrow-network plans have increased in popularity because of their lower premiums, but plans using such networks need to think about associated potential problems with poor provider access, balance billing and provider directory information. Detailed information about the latest regulatory and legislative measures to prevent balance […]

Ask the Expert: OK to Waive Benefits Waiting Period for New Hire?

As part of the negotiations for a new hire’s total compensation package, the candidate has asked the company to waive the health benefits eligibility period and start benefits immediately. Can the company agree to this for some new hires and not others? Would this put the company in jeopardy of potential discrimination claims?

ESOP May Be Short Answer to Complex Questions

Question: How can an employer engage employees in the company’s success, give themselves a competitive position in the battle for new and existing employees, and at the same time, facilitate the sale of the company to a group of trusted, motivated people?

TPA Faces State-law Claims for Improper Release of Patient Data

A third-party administrator faces California health privacy and unfair business practices charges for allegedly handing over a plan participant’s case management information to an employer, which then terminated her to avoid paying for her impending liver transplant. The TPA’s arguments for ERISA preemption failed because the plan participant’s state-law action could have been brought in […]

Verizon Pension Buyout Not Illegal, 5th Circuit Rules

A federal appellate court affirmed the legality of Verizon Communications Inc.’s 2012 decision to offload more than $7 billion in pension obligations, in a ruling that lent further support for popular pension derisking measures. In Lee. v. Verizon, 2015 WL 4880972 (5th Cir., Aug. 17, 2015), two classes of plaintiffs — retirees whose benefits management […]

Catering to Candidates with Student Loans

By Holly Jones, JD, Senior Legal Editor In yesterday’s Advisor, we took a look at why certain 401(k) benefits are not as attractive to candidates with significant student loan debt. These candidates might not be able to contribute, and so the benefit becomes a nonbenefit. Today we’ll explore how employers can offer an alternate benefit […]

Supreme Court Will Rule on Preemption of Vermont Health Reporting Law

The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether ERISA preemption shields a self-funded health plan from state requirements to report health claims data. The court agreed June 29 to hear Gobeille v. Liberty Mutual Ins. Co. (2015 WL 2473478). The state of Vermont is appealing the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling in Liberty Mutual v. […]

Supreme Court Upholds Exchange Subsidies

The U.S. Supreme Court in a 6-3 vote affirmed that subsidies may go to individuals in states with exchanges established by the federal government, and the statute did not restrict subsidies to only states that themselves ran exchanges. Such a reading of the statute was not in line with the intent of the Affordable Care […]