Special Delivery: Providing Participant Materials for Group Health Plans

Group health plans have a variety of requirements relating to materials and notices that must be provided to participants. These requirements come from different places — the Department of Labor, ERISA, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), and more. Employers must not only ensure that participants are provided certain information and notices, but must ensure the timing and delivery of the information is appropriate.

This webinar will help employers understand the materials and notices they are obligated to provide, who they must give them to, how they should deliver them, and when they need to be provided.

This webinar will:

• Explain the basics of participant material and notice requirements, including the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) Criteria for Medically Necessary Determination Notice, Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act (WHCRA) notices, Summary Plan Descriptions, Summary of Benefits and Coverage notice of modification, Summary of Material Modifications, grandfathered plan disclosures, and annual notices
• Discuss the requirements of paper delivery
• Explain which notices may be provided electronically, and the difference in electronic delivery requirements for employees who use computers as part of their jobs and those who do not
• Provide best practices on electronic disclosure consent, recordkeeping for the consent forms, and frequency of obtaining consent forms
• Explain how different delivery methods may be used for different groups of plan participants
• Discuss when notices or materials should be sent to both the plan participant and their covered spouse or children separately
• Explain why the Michelle’s Law Enrollment Notice is outdated, but should still be included in plan documents for the time being
• Discuss why placing notices in employer common areas or providing a kiosk for employees to use to access notices is not adequate
• Discuss which documents and notices must be provided upon request, and the amount of time an employer has to provide requested documents

This 60-minute beginner to intermediate level webinar will help employers understand the plan document requirements for group health plans.

This webinar is part of UBA’s Employer Webinar Series. Brinson Benefits is a member of United Benefit Advisors (UBA) an alliance of the Nation’s Premier Independent Advisor Firms.