July 4th – July 8th, 2022
Each week, you’ll find specially curated news articles to keep you up to date on the ever-evolving world of insurance and risk management. The articles are divided out between items relevant to Property & Casualty, Employee Benefits/Human Resources, and Compliance. We’ve included brief summaries of each item as well as a link to the original articles.
PROPERTY & CASUALTY
25 Years: The Journey of Cyber Insurance
“While young underwriters may think that cyber insurance is a recent coverage innovation, the line is actually more than two decades old. Here, Kurtis Suhs, a veteran of the cyber insurance industry who served as an investigator and criminal coordinator for the FDIC early in his career and later as a broker for INSUREtrust in the late 1990s, gives a personal account of the development of the cyber insurance industry from his vantage point and assessment of the market today. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the cyber insurance market.” Full Article
– Insurance Journal
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS, HUMAN RESOURCES, & COMPLIANCE
Big Employers Are Offering Abortion Benefits. Will the Information Stay Safe? “Human resources departments are required to keep some medical data closely held, but a determined law enforcement agent with a search warrant or subpoena could ultimately get access to patient data. That will complicate life for the dozens of corporations promising to protect, or even expand, the abortion benefits for employees and their dependents.” Full Article – Kaiser Health News
FTC Votes to Examine PBM Practices “The Commission is particularly concerned that PBMs’ efforts to realize maximum levels of manufacturer-paid rebates and fees (some or all of which are retained by the PBM) result in PBMs preferring higher cost, brand (i.e., patented) drug products on their formularies. The Commission is concerned that such PBM and manufacturer practices diminish the competitive market effect that lower- cost biosimilars and generic drugs would otherwise be having on overall drug pricing.” Full Article – Wiley Rein LLP
Secretaries Becerra, Walsh and Yellen Underscore Contraceptive Coverage Mandate for Private Insurance “In all fifty states, the ACA guarantees coverage of women’s preventive services, including free birth control and contraceptive counseling, for individuals and covered dependents. Recent reports have shown that some issuers and plans may not be appropriately providing this coverage. The letter is another step for the Departments to put the industry on notice for the required coverage and demand prompt action to ensure that people can rightfully access the birth control they need.” Full Article – BP
Health Plan’s Exclusion of Gender Affirming Care Violates Title VII and U.S. Constitution “The trial court found that the plan’s exclusion discriminated based on sex and transgender status in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause and because of sex in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The court declined to rule on claims alleged under ACA Section 1557, pending the issuance of proposed regulations.” Full Article – Thomson Reuters / EBIA
The Eleventh Circuit Says – Correctly – That the Widow of a Deceased Employee Can Recover Life Insurance Benefits Even Though the Deceased Employee Was Never Enrolled in the Plan Due to the Plan Administrator’s Mistakes “District courts have come to accept the premise that, in light of the Supreme Court’s recognition in Amara of equitable remedies for fiduciary errors, the value of the absent life insurance benefits should be recoverable as equitable relief independent of the plan and the lack of coverage for that amount under the plan itself. The acceptance of this premise has now progressed to the Circuit Court of Appeal level.” Full Article – Stephen Rosenberg of The Wagner Law
Post-Dobbs: FAQs for Employers and Other Benefit Plan Sponsors “Can a group health plan reimburse travel expenses in excess of the applicable IRS limits? Do plan sponsors have to consider mental health parity concerns when adding travel benefits to access reproductive coverage? Can employers just ‘pay as you go’ outside a group health plan, and offer ad-hoc taxable reimbursements of travel expenses to access reproductive care? Can a separate health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) be created solely for reimbursing travel expenses to access reproductive care? Does Dobbs impact infertility benefit coverage under a group health plan?” Full Article – Proskauer
STATE & INTERNATIONAL COMPLIANCE
In addition to the RISQ Review, RISQ Consulting also provides a resource that features changes and updates to State and International Compliance measures. We’ve included brief summaries of each item below, and also provided links to the original articles if you’d like to read further.
D.C.
Washington, DC, Takes Steps to Protect Employees’ Off-Duty Marijuana Use
“DC city Council unanimously passed a bill on June 7. Under the act, employers cannot base an adverse employment action on (1) an individual’s legal, off-duty use of cannabis; (2) an individual’s status as a medical cannabis program patient; or (3) the presence of cannabinoid metabolites on a drug test, without additional evidence of on-the-job impairment.” Full Article
– Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
Rhode Island
Rhode Island Legalizes Recreational Marijuana and Protects Off-Duty Use for Employees
“Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee signed a bill on May 25 legalizing recreational marijuana in the state. The law, which took effect immediately, prohibits basing adverse employment actions on off-duty marijuana use, unless certain limited exceptions apply.” Full Article
– Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
New York
New York State Legislature Approves Statutory Protections for Independent Contractors
“New York State Freelance Isn’t Free Act, if signed by Governor Kathy Hochul, would take effect 180 days after signing and would apply to contracts entered into with certain independent contractors on or after that effective date. Employers that contract with freelancers and other independent contractors should begin to prepare for compliance, including by ensuring that any contracts will satisfy the Act’s requirements.” Full Article
– Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler
Maryland
Maryland Employers: Your Sexual Harassment Disclosure Survey Response Is Due by July 1, 2022
“Maryland employers with 50 or more employees are required to submit a report by July 1, 2022 to the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights regarding any sexual harassment settlements during the past two years. The Maryland General Assembly passed the “Disclosing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Act of 2018” that, in part, requires larger employers to submit two reports on sexual harassment settlements – the first of which was supposed to have occurred in 2020, and the second by July 1, 2022.” Full Article
– Shaw Rosenthal LLP
Illinois
Illinois Expands Its Bereavement Leave Act
“Illinois recently amended its Child Bereavement Leave Act to expand the reasons for leave, including miscarriage and stillbirth, and adds additional covered family members. The law will now be called the “Family Bereavement Leave Act” and goes into effect on January 1, 2023.” Full Article
– Seyfarth Shaw
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