COBRA

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently published an Information Letter that confirms the general preemption under ERISA of state civil laws that require employers to obtain written consent before withholding amounts from employees’ wages for contribution to a benefit plan subject to ERISA.

Employers who sponsor group health plans that cover any prescription drugs generally must disclose whether the plan provides creditable or non-creditable prescription drug coverage to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) within 60 days of the start of a new plan year.

In a recent article published by SHRM, our President and CEO Gary Kushner was cited as the main resource on dealing with active employees and their dependents upon their reaching Medicare-eligibility. Kushner mentioned many issues related to employer-based health and prescription drug benefits.

On December 14, 2018, a US District Judge in Texas issued a ruling that the entire ACA was unconstitutional given that the individual mandate contained in it no longer had a tax penalty, the basis of the 2012 US Supreme Court ruling upholding the ACA's constitutionality. 

The IRS has issued Notice 2018-94 extending the due date for the 2018 1095-B and 1095-C forms to be sent to employees from January 31, 2019 until March 4, 2019.

When Congress passed the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act in 2003 implementing prescription drug coverage under Medicare, it required all employers that offer prescription drug benefits to provide an annual notice to all Medicare-eligible plan participants.

In his January 13, 2017 Op-Ed piece, David Brooks argues that health care markets can, but don't often work when consumers "purchase" health care. He's not talking about health care coverage, but the actual receipt of health-related services.