Welfare Benefit Plans
Our welfare benefits group has extensive knowledge and experience in all aspects of health and welfare and fringe benefit plans, and is especially adept in helping employers and other clients maintain their plans in compliance with state and federal requirements. Our attorneys routinely work on matters involving the Affordable Care Act, No Surprises Act, Health Plan Transparency Rules, HIPAA (both privacy and non-discrimination rules), Mental Health Parity and Addiction Substance Abuse Equity Act (MHPAEA), COBRA, Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement (MEWA) issues, Medicare Secondary Payor (MSP) rules, Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), general ERISA requirements for welfare plans, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) rules.
Services include:
- Design, administration and compliance for all types of health, welfare and fringe benefit plans, including:
- Wrap plans
- Group health plans
- Wellness plans
- On-site wellness services
- Retiree health plans
- Life insurance and death benefit plans
- Long and short term disability plans
- Voluntary employees’ beneficiary associations (VEBAs)
- Cafeteria plans, including:
- Premium conversion plans
- Health and dependent care (flexible spending account) plans
- Other Section 125 arrangements
- Health reimbursement account plans
- Health savings accounts
- Severance pay plans
- Transportation benefit plans
- Educational assistance plans
- Adoption assistance plans.
- Drafting of plan documents, summary plan descriptions, HIPAA privacy manuals, required notices and forms, and review of provider documents utilized by clients
- Regulatory compliance issues, including:
- Nondiscrimination testing and coverage
- HIPAA privacy reviews
- Determination letters for VEBAs.
- Termination of welfare and fringe benefit plans, including termination and winding down of VEBAs
- Reporting and disclosure, including preparation or review of annual reports (Form 5500), ACA reporting requirements, summary plan descriptions and other employee communications
- IRS Forms 1024 and 990 for VEBAs
- IRS and Department of Labor audits, examinations and investigations
- Employee benefit plan issues in mergers, acquisitions and other corporate transactions
- Assistance with IRS Audits and DOL Investigations and other agency actions
- Negotiation of vendor agreements, including those with Third Party Administrators (TPAs) and Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs).
The clients of our Welfare Benefits Group include:
- Employers of all sizes and in all industries, including tax-exempt organizations, and governmental agencies and instrumentalities
- Multiple employer plans (MEPs)
- Taft-Hartley plans
- Insurance brokers and consultants
- Third-party administrators
- Professional and trade associations
- VEBAs and VEBA trustees
- Plan participants and beneficiaries.