compliance

compliance

Departments Clarify Required Coverage of At-Home OTC COVID-19 Tests

February 7, 2022 Read time: 5 minutes The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury (collectively, the Departments) recently issued updated FAQ guidance to explain how employer group health plans may comply with the requirement to cover with no cost-sharing or ...

Supreme Court Strikes Down OSHA’s Vaccine ETS: An Employer’s Six-Step Priority List

Jan. 14. 2022 Read time: 5 minutes The Supreme Court just blocked the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) vaccine Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) from being enforced for the foreseeable future, meaning your compliance to-do list has gotten significantly shorter – ...

Group Health Plans, Insurers Must Cover At-Home COVID-19 Tests

The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury (collectively, the Departments) issued Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Monday that generally require group health plans and insurers to cover the costs of at-home over-the-counter COVID-19 tests (OTC COVID-19 Tests) ...

Compliance Recap | December 2021

December was a quiet month in the compliance world in terms of large announcements, but lots of little information trickled in over the month. OSHA’s vaccine-or-test mandate for large employers and vaccine mandate for health care organizations is headed for the Supreme Court, set to be heard on ...

DOL Announces Good Faith Enforcement Standard, Provides Guidance on Compensation Disclosures

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) amended Section 408(b)(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to require service providers (including brokers) to disclose direct and indirect compensation to group health plan fiduciaries. Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2021-03 ...

Sixth Circuit Lifts Stay of OSHA Emergency Vaccine Mandate for Large Employers

On late Friday December 17, 2021, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reinstated the Biden administration’s vaccine-or-test mandate for large employers, lifting the Fifth Circuit’s earlier stay of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) ...

Compliance Recap | November 2021

November saw quite a bit of activity in the compliance space. Although OSHA’s vaccine-or-test mandate for private employers was issued, it was immediately met with resistance in the form of lawsuits and a stay from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The mandates for federal contractors and ...

Departments Issue Interim Final Rule on Group Health Plan Cost and Pricing Disclosure

Read time: 5 minutes On November 17, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and Health and Human Services (HHS) (collectively, the “Departments”), with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), issued interim final regulations (IFR) to provide guidance ...

What Employers Should Know about the OSHA Vaccine Emergency Temporary Standard

  Read time: 30 minutes Federal workplace safety officials just released the mandate-or-test workplace vaccine emergency rule, and employers are sure to have questions. The Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) developed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will require ...

Compliance Recap | October 2021

October was a relatively quiet month in the compliance space. While we are still waiting for the U.S. government to release the OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard on the COVID-19 vaccine mandate and guidance on broker compensation disclosures, here are the highlights of happenings in October. ...

Brinson Benefits