Alden Bianchi
Subscribe to Alden Bianchi's PostsAlden J. Bianchi is an experienced Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation lawyer who advises corporate, not-for-profit, governmental and individual clients on a broad range of executive compensation and employee benefits matters, including qualified and non-qualified retirement plans, health and welfare plans. Read Alden Bianchi's full bio.
Complying With the ‘Relevant Data’ Requirement Under the Final 2024 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act: A Proposal for a Workable Alternative
By Alden Bianchi on Dec 19, 2024
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans, Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act
The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) generally requires group health plans and health insurance issuers to ensure that financial requirements (such as copays and deductibles), quantitative treatment limitations (such as visit limits), and nonquantitative treatment limitations (such as prior authorization and concurrent review) applicable to mental health or substance use disorder (MH/SUD)...
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Will the Affordable Care Act Survive a Trump Presidency?
By Alden Bianchi on Nov 26, 2024
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
Will President-elect Donald Trump seek to repeal the Affordable Care Act once more, or will his administration opt for smaller-scale changes to the law? In this article, Alden Bianchi shares his predictions on the actions the incoming administration and Republicans may consider as they take control of the White House and Congress. Access the article.
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Election 2024: Gender-Affirming Care in the US
By Gregory Fosheim, Sarah Raaii and Alden Bianchi on Oct 29, 2024
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans, Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act
With the US election one week away, what are the legal implications of a Harris-Walz administration versus a Trump-Vance administration regarding gender-affirming care? In this Q&A, Greg Fosheim, Sarah Raaii, and Alden Bianchi discuss how the election’s outcome could affect clients in the employee benefits and healthcare spaces. Read the Q&A here.
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The Case for the Welfare Plan Fiduciary Committee
By Alden Bianchi, Jacob Mattinson and Sarah Raaii on Oct 22, 2024
Posted In Employee Benefits, Fiduciary and Investment Issues, Health and Welfare Plans
Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action lawsuits filed earlier this year against the group health plans of two large US employers underscore the importance of implementing formal welfare benefit plan governance structures that include fiduciary committees comparable to the governance structures employer sponsors of retirement plans routinely adopt. This recent article, published by the...
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2024 Final Mental Health Parity Regulations: First Impressions
By Alden Bianchi, Jacob Mattinson and Sarah Raaii on Oct 10, 2024
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans, Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act
Alden Bianchi, Jake Mattinson, and Sarah Raaii recently authored an article in ALM Benefits Pro commenting on the final Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) regulations issued last month by the Biden administration. While some of the more objectionable features of the proposed MHPAEA regulations were not finalized, they argue that their basic...
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Webinar Replay: Unpacking the Final Mental Health Parity Regulations
By Alden Bianchi, Jacob Mattinson and Sarah Raaii on Oct 8, 2024
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans, Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act
During a recent webinar, Alden Bianchi, Jake Mattinson, and Sarah Raaii provided a comprehensive overview of the new MHPAEA rules.
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Plan Sponsors, Insurers, and the Landmark Mental Health Parity Final Rule
By Alden Bianchi, Jacob Mattinson and Sarah Raaii on Sep 19, 2024
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans, Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act
The US Departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services recently issued much-anticipated final regulations under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). The newly issued final regulations update the 2013 final regulations principally to reflect the changes to MHPAEA enacted by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, which requires plans and...
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The Case for the Welfare Plan Fiduciary Committee
By Alden Bianchi, Jacob Mattinson and Sarah Raaii on Aug 13, 2024
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
Recent lawsuits filed against the group health plans of two large US employers underscore the importance of implementing formal welfare benefit plan governance structures that include fiduciary committees comparable to the governance structures employer sponsors of retirement plans routinely adopt. Establishing such committees can help employers reduce litigation risk and ensure compliance with Employee Retirement Income...
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Anticipating the MHPAEA Final Regulations: A Word About Network Composition
By Alden Bianchi on Aug 6, 2024
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans, Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act
If our trade and industry sources have it right, we could see final regulations implementing the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), as most recently amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA), any day now. Last week, we offered a wish list of things we would like to see modified or addressed...
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Six Wishes for the Forthcoming Final Regulations Under MHPAEA
By Alden Bianchi on Jul 30, 2024
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans, Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act
On July 1, 2024, the US Department of Labor (DOL) submitted final regulations to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), implementing the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) as most recently amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA). The CAA added a requirement that plans and issuers perform and document comparative analyses of...
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