April 7, 2023
FAQs about FFCRA, CARES Act, and HIPAA Implementation, Part 58
The Biden administration has announced its intent to end the COVID-19 National Emergency (National Emergency) and the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) effective May 11, 2023. As a result, group health plans will no longer be required to cover certain services related to COVID-19 (such as ...
April 6, 2023
Federal Judge in Texas Strikes Down Key ACA Provision Regarding Preventive Care Services
On March 30, 2023, the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Texas (Court) issued a final ruling invalidating certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) preventive care mandate. Although the ultimate outcome of this decision remains to be seen, the ruling has created some ...
April 5, 2023
Compliance Recap | March 2023
After a slow start to the year in compliance, March ramped up with FAQs from the Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) (the “Agencies”) on the gag clause provision of the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA), ...
April 5, 2023
HHS Releases Revised Instructions for Upcoming Prescription Drug and Health Care Spending Reports
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released revised instructions for group health plans to report prescription drug and health care spending data, as required by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA). This data submission is called the RxDC report. The Rx stands for ...
April 4, 2023
Dear HR Manager from Workplace Guilt
Dear HR Manager, Last week my company had layoffs and my team lost several members. The employees who remain are struggling. I don’t know what to do. How do I re-engage my team after this layoff? – Workplace Guilt Dear Workplace Guilt, Layoffs are brutal for everyone involved. The remaining ...
March 21, 2023
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion | Four Practices to Increase Gender Salary Parity
As of 2022, women earned 82 cents for every dollar a man made. The gap was more significant when isolating the data for women of color. At this pace, The Institute for Women’s Policy Research predicts we will not see gender pay equity until 2059. Corporate leaders play an essential role in ...
March 15, 2023
Advocacy in Action | Assistance Reprocessing Claims
A member called into Purple Card because he had a $570 Urgent Care bill go to collections. He did not believe he owed the amount to the Urgent Care facility. The Patient Advocate reviewed the bill and contacted the insurance carrier to determine why the claim paid the way it paid and why the ...
March 14, 2023
Workplace Culture | Connect Employees with your Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Strategy
People want more from their jobs. Expectations have grown in leaps and bounds in the area of corporate sustainability. As a result, many job seekers are looking for employers that support ESG (environmental, social, and governance) efforts important to them. Of the participants surveyed in the ...
March 7, 2023
Dear HR Manager from Word on The Street
Dear HR Manager, An employee from another department applied for an open position on my team. Normally, I would be thrilled, but rumor has it that this individual is not a stellar performer. What should I do? – Word on The Street Dear Word on The Street, Above all, keep an open mind; the ...
March 6, 2023
Joint Agency Guidance on Gag Clause Prohibition for Health Plan Agreements
On February 23, 2023, the Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) (the “Agencies”) released FAQs addressing the implementation of certain transparency requirements under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 ...
