United States Department of Labor
The Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA), a division within the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), recently published a Cybersecurity Program Best Practices document for employer plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
The Department of Labor (DOL) issued an FAQ on April 7, 2021 relative to the application of COBRA subsidies authorized under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). The information below summarizes the content of the FAQ.
Model Notices
The DOL has provided the following model notices:
UPDATE: We have since received additional guidance from the Department of Labor, which clarifies that the COBRA extension end date is specific to each individual.
President Donald Trump declared a national emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year. The national emergency took effect on March 1, 2020, and it has yet to expire. Following the national emergency declaration came a wave of guidance and regulations, including guidance and regulations which impacted deadlines associated with employee benefit programs.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued guidance that will impact COBRA procedures, special enrollment periods, and claims procedures. The guidance will extend the length of certain time periods applicable to group health plans, disability plans and other welfare plans regulated by the ERISA law. Plan participants and beneficiaries will have additional time to do the following:
The Department of Labor (DoL), Department of Treasury (DoT) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have jointly proposed new rules that would impact Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) effective January 1, 2020.
New guidance was released on September 13, 2013 that applies to Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) and other employer healthcare arrangements. Much of the guidance impacts employers that want to provide reimbursements to employees to help pay for individual health insurance policy premiums. Many employers have given this idea some consideration instead of offering a traditional group health plan to reduce their costs.