Health & Welfare

The IRS and HHS have released some of the 2020 inflation-adjusted limits for certain employee welfare benefit plans and the dollar amounts used for certain discrimination tests. Health Savings Accounts ("HSAs"). The IRS released the inflation-adjusted contribution limits and related amounts for HSAs and HSA-compatible high deductible health plans ("HDHPs") for 2020. The 2020 limit on ...

In Information Letter 2019-002, the IRS has confirmed that unused transportation benefits will be forfeited when an employee terminates employment.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals, in Clemens v. Moody's Analytics, Inc., has held that an employer did not unlawfully interfere with an employee's rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") when it prorated his bonus based on his FMLA leave-related absences. Law. FMLA regulations entitle employees to "unconditional pay increases" that occur during FMLA leave, including cost of ...

The Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") has lowered the maximum civil monetary penalty amounts for most violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA") Privacy and Security Rules. Background. In 2009, Congress enacted the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health ("HITECH") Act that, among other things, enhanced HIPAA enforcement by ...

The Department of Labor ("DOL") has announced that it will not take action against association health plans ("AHPs") that comply with its final regulations, even though these regulations were partially overturned by a federal court in State of New York v. United States Department of Labor. In that case, a federal district court in Washington, D.C. ruled that the regulations are an unreasonable ...

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in The Depot, Inc. vs. Caring for Montana, has ruled that state law claims of fraud and misrepresentation are not preempted by ERISA. Facts: Three employers provided their employees with health care insurance based on the insurer's representations that the monthly premiums would reflect only the cost of providing benefits. The employers later said ...

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled, in Arkun v. Unum Group, that a plan participant could not sue to restore her long-term disability ("LTD") benefits because the suit was time barred by the plan's provisions. Facts. The employee became disabled in 1999 and began receiving LTD benefits. In 2004, the plan informed her that she was no longer disabled and that benefits would ...

Certain individuals who receive health care coverage from an S corporation must include the cost of the coverage in their income because of their relationship to the owner of the S corporation. However, they are then permitted to deduct the cost on their personal tax returns, according to IRS Chief Counsel Memorandum 201912001. Facts: The owner of an S corporation employs a family member through ...

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in Rittinger v. Healthy Alliance Life Insurance Company, has ruled that a plan administrator that has been granted discretionary authority with regards to claim decisions, may deny a claim for bariatric surgery when there are conflicting medical opinions as to whether the surgery falls within an exception that would have given the participant ...

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Johnston v. Prudential Ins. Co., has affirmed a lower court's ruling that the defendant insurer acted appropriately in terminating the plaintiff's long term-disability ("LTD") insurance benefits based on evidence that the plaintiff was "deliberately exaggerating" his symptoms.