Sarah Raaii recently joined McDermott+’s Maddie News on the Health Policy Breakroom Podcast to discuss proposed rules issued by the Biden administration that require health plans to cover certain over-the-counter services, including contraception items.
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 structure remains fully intact, including provisions that employers found most burdensome.
On September 9, 2024, the Biden administration issued much-anticipated final regulations under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). The rules implement a host of complicated new compliance requirements for sponsors and issuers of health plans, instituting new obligations to collect and evaluate plan data, conduct comparative analyses, and act to address material differences in access to mental health and substance abuse benefits as compared to medical and surgical benefits.
During a recent webinar, Alden Bianchi, Jake Mattinson, and Sarah Raaii provided a comprehensive overview of the new rules, including compliance deadlines and key takeaways for employers, plan sponsors, and issuers of group health plans. The speakers also addressed how the new rules might impact any ongoing US Department of Labor investigations.
On August 12, 2024, the Biden administration launched a new “Time Is Money” initiative, seeking to crack down on time-consuming and burdensome business processes.
The initiative includes a requirement for federal employee health plans to provide an online opportunity to submit claims. It also features an accompanying letter to health insurance CEOs from the heads of the US Department of Health and Human Services and US Department of Labor that challenges the CEOS to offer online claim submissions, deny claims only where appropriate, and provide clear steps to appeal decisions.
Read more about the initiative and other McDermott+ healthcare-related regulatory updates here.
The Biden administration recently released its Spring 2024 Unified Agenda (a few months late), which lists all the regulations that the administration plans to issue by the end of the year and beyond.
In this update, Jeffrey Davis previews new regulations that could impact the health and welfare benefits industry related to the No Surprises Act, new standards for the exchange of health information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, the finalization of new Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act rules, and more.
Democratic lawmakers recently sent a letter to the US Office of Personnel Management urging the Biden administration to enhance the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program’s in vitro fertilization coverage. The letter comes as some states have signaled an interest in enforcing personhood rights in treatments involving embryos, according to this Federal Times article.
“When you can’t receive the services within a state, obviously it doesn’t do you much good if your [insurance] plan still technically covers them,” said Sarah Raaii.
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted 3-2 along party lines to ban all new noncompete agreements nationwide and render existing noncompete agreements binding most workers unenforceable. The Final Rule, slated for publication in the Federal Register, provides that employers’ use of noncompete agreements amounts to an “unfair method of competition” that runs afoul of Section 5 of the FTC Act.
COMING UP
For a deeper dive, join our multidisciplinary team of employment and antitrust lawyers for a webinar covering what employers need to know about the Final Rule and what to do next.
FTC’s Final Noncompete Rule: What It Means and Next Steps for Employers
Wednesday, May 8, 2024
Webinar | 2:00 – 3:00 pm (EDT)
The Congressional Review Act (CRA) empowers Congress to act to invalidate regulations issued by federal agencies. These regulations include final rules, interim final rules and guidance documents. The CRA is most practically used by a new Congress to invalidate regulations issued by a previous administration and received within 60 legislative days of the previous Congress’ adjournment.
Should Republicans gain control of both chambers of Congress and the presidency, the 119th Congress could use the CRA to nullify certain Biden administration regulations. With federal elections looming later this year, this article reviews the CRA and how it might impact the current administration’s regulatory agenda.
The Biden administration recently announced that 28 healthcare payors and providers intend to implement and adhere to voluntary commitments for the safe, secure and trustworthy development and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare. The signatory companies aligned around the FAVES principle—namely, that AI should lead to healthcare outcomes that are fair, appropriate, valid, effective and safe.
On October 30, 2023, the Biden administration released a long-awaited Executive Order (EO) on the “Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence.” The EO acknowledges the transformative potential of AI while highlighting many known risks of AI tools and systems. It directs a broad range of actions around new standards for AI that will impact many sectors, and it articulates eight guiding principles and priorities to govern the development and use of AI.
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