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The recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to invalidate the DOL’s fiduciary rules creates further confusion in an area that had already suffered from an excess of ...confusion. A few things to note in considering this state of affairs: •      The 5th Circuit’s opinion goes to the core of key elements of the fiduciary rule...

On March 15 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit struck down the DOL’s new fiduciary rule. This adds yet more uncertainty and confusion to a regulatory, legal and political tale that already has more than its share of … uncertainty and confusion. This blog post tries to make some sense of what this latest ruling means. What...

The past year has seen a number of articles describing new state laws covering a range of benefits-related areas. Examples include New York State’s new paid leave act and Nevada’s law regulating fiduciary behavior. And more such laws are around the corner - a recent Kaiser Health News article noted that at least nine states were considering proposals to respond...

A new chapter may be opening in the ongoing saga of litigation against plan fiduciaries. This new chapter could lead plan sponsors and advisors to rethink – and expand – their view of the scope of their fiduciary responsibility. On January 10, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against New York University’s plans filed an amended complaint. The majority of the...

Question: What do employers and James Bond Have in common? Answer: Both have to combat Spectre. However, the problem for employers is that in addition to fighting the new Spectre computer bug, employers must also combat the Meltdown computer bug. And, employers must do so in a way that complies with HIPAA. This blog will explain these cryptic references –...

A new proposed regulation represents the latest phase of the Administration’s efforts to reshape the American health care system.The proposed regulation, issued in response to President Trump’s October 12 executive order, opens the way to expand association health plans (AHPs). An AHP is a health plan sponsored by a group of unrelated employers, linked by factors such as a common...

The Senate has now passed its version of a revamp to the tax code (H.R. 1).The legislation makes significant changes to many provisions of the code, including dramatic changes to corporate and individual taxation. The bill now goes on to a conference committee to reconcile differences with the bill passed by the House of Representatives in November. Significantly, the rules...

The U.S. Department of Labor has taken a series of legal actions against a multiple employer welfare association (MEWA) plan operated by Black Wolf Consulting.The actions taken by the DOL against this plan (the AEU Holdings LLC Employee Benefits Plan) include freezing bank accounts, replacing the plan fiduciaries, and issuing an order to dozens of brokers to stop marketing the...

The Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) remains on the books, despite all of the rhetoric about potential legislative and/or administrative changes. And, in a significant new development, the IRS is poised to begin levying penalties on employers, under the ACA’s employer mandate, for 2015. This is important for a number of reasons: •      Regardless of what happens in Washington, the rules for...

On October 27, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued new proposed regulations regarding the operation of health insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). Much of this 365-page document consists of more routine updates to rules governing the operation of exchanges under ACA. In addition to these routine provisions, however, the proposed regulations contain a number...