McDermott Will & Emery
Subscribe to McDermott Will & Emery's PostsThe Basics of Health Savings Accounts and Health Flexible Spending Accounts
By McDermott Will & Emery and Jacob Mattinson on Aug 1, 2017
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
In a recent webinar, Jake Mattinson and Sarah Raaii discussed the basics of health savings accounts (HSAs) and health flexible spending accounts. They provided an overview of the various regulations surrounding HSA, such as eligibility requirements, high deductible health plans, and contributions and distributions, and cafeteria plans. Additionally, they analyzed the differences between HSAs and...
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Round Two: Significant Telehealth Expansion Re-Proposed in Bipartisan Senate Bill
By McDermott Will & Emery, Lisa Schmitz Mazur and Marshall E. Jackson, Jr. on Jul 25, 2017
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
On May 3, 2017, the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies for Health Act of 2017 (S. 2016) (CONNECT Act of 2017) was reintroduced by the same six senators who had initially introduced the legislation in early 2016 and referred to the Senate Committee on Finance. As we previously reported on February...
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Adding Value to Your Organization: Benefits Best Practices to Avoid Common Mistakes
By McDermott Will & Emery and Jacob Mattinson on Jul 20, 2017
Posted In Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation, Health and Welfare Plans, Retirement Plans
In a recent webinar, Jake Mattinson and Sarah Raaii discussed the practices that benefits professionals can adopt to add value to their organizations and avoid common mistakes. Jake and Sarah discussed recommended practices for ERISA benefit claims and inquiries, how to review plan compensation definitions and payroll codes, best practices for corrections using the Voluntary...
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Senate Republicans Unveil ACA Repeal Bill
By McDermott Will & Emery and Eric Zimmerman on Jun 27, 2017
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
Last week, Senate Republicans unveiled draft legislation to move toward repealing portions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The draft health care bill, known as the Better Care Reconciliation Act, was hatched behind closed doors without public committee hearings or debate, in response to concerns raised by the House’s American Health Care Act (AHCA), which...
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Amy Gordon and Susan Nash Named Top Authors in JD Supra’s 2017 Readers’ Choice Awards
By McDermott Will & Emery on Jun 9, 2017
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans, Labor
Amy Gordon and Susan Nash were recognized as top authors by JD Supra’s 2017 Readers’ Choice Awards for their thought leadership pieces in the Defense & Space Industry and Affordable Care Act (ACA) categories. In addition, Amy’s article, along with Sarah Raaii and Jamie Weyeneth, “Recent Government-Issued FAQs Clarify ACA Employer Mandate, Market Reforms” was...
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Proposed 457(f) Regulations: Opportunities and Challenges
By McDermott Will & Emery, Joseph K. Urwitz and Mary K. Samsa on Jun 6, 2017
Posted In Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation
The 2016 proposed regulations significantly expanded 457(f) plan sponsors’ ability to permit elective deferrals, use noncompetition agreements and make larger severance payments than otherwise permitted under 409A without immediate taxation to participants. In a recent presentation, Ruth Wimer, Mary Samsa and Joseph Urwitz discuss the surprising opportunities with respect to tax-exempt and governmental entities’ “ineligible...
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More Federal Legislation Aimed at Expanding Medicare Coverage of Telehealth Services
By McDermott Will & Emery, Dale C. Van Demark, Lisa Schmitz Mazur and Marshall E. Jackson, Jr. on Jun 1, 2017
Posted In Health and Welfare Plans
Shelby Buettner, Marshall Jackson, Jr., Lisa Schmitz Mazur and Dale Van Demark wrote this bylined article on a proposed US Senate bill to expand Medicare’s coverage of telehealth services. The bill would require the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to test the effectiveness of telehealth models, and cover through the Medicare program those models...
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Partial Victories to Two Universities in Their Motions to Dismiss Code Section 403(b) Fee Litigation
By McDermott Will & Emery and Joseph K. Urwitz on May 30, 2017
Posted In Employee Benefits, Fiduciary and Investment Issues, Retirement Plans
Multiple large, class action lawsuits have been filed against prominent higher education institutions claiming fiduciary breaches under their Code Section 403(b) plans as a result of insufficient oversight of plan investments, which allegedly caused excessive fees to be paid by participants. Last week, district courts in Georgia and North Carolina, respectively, ruled on defendants’ motions...
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The Future of Discretionary Clauses in California Life and Disability Insurance Agreements
By McDermott Will & Emery on May 23, 2017
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
On May 11, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a district court ruling, and upheld a California law that invalidates a plan provision that assigns the final determination on benefit payout determinations to an insurer. How will this impact the future of discretionary clauses in California life and disability...
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Executive Order Regarding Contraceptive Mandate Directed toward Religious Employers
By McDermott Will & Emery on May 11, 2017
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
Late last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to look into exempting religious employers from the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) contraceptive mandate. Qualifying religious employers (e.g. houses of worship) are already exempt from providing contraceptive coverage under their benefit plans, and an accommodation process is provided for certain non-profit employers...
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