Government response to the Coronavirus has included a wide range of emergency measures governing health plan administration. Some of these measures address dislocations caused by sudden change in employment status while others address administration of benefits for employees marooned at home. The fast pace of change wrecks the predictability required for health care benefits tied…
Catastrophe reveals character and exposes fraud. From one shut-in to another, I’ve quickly learned from the flood of calls and “chats” that some clients rush to the aid of customers and others rush to the bunkers. A reckoning will come later when I evaluate my own contributions and assess the decent use of my time…
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), in collaboration with the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) just posted an updated Windows only version of its HIPAA risk assessment tool (SRA). I know; lots of exciting acronyms, abbreviations, and labels! You can download the new software on the government’s Health IT…
The Washington Insurance Commissioner (OIC) has proposed new rules to codify current procedures for filing large group health plans for bona fide associations. Under current requirements, the agency provides instructions for filing association health plans qualifying as a single large group plan under ERISA rather than rules governing these filings. The OIC requires that insurance…
On June 5th, the Department of Labor (DOL) and defendants in the Associated Industries of the Inland Northwest (AIIN) ERISA litigation reached a settlement and consent order which was submitted to Eastern Washington Chief United States District Court Judge Thomas Rice. The proposed settlement ends two years of litigation over DOL alleged violations of ERISA’s…
Go ahead, keep it up and see if I bite. On Monday, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) issued an enforcement statement addressing the U.S. District Court decision invalidating DOL rules liberalizing bona fide AHP standards. Essentially, DOL will not bring an action against these newer AHPs until the end of the current plan…
