May 9th – May 13th, 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
Takeaways from Our Conversation with Cannabis Data Chief
“Global cannabis sales for 2022 will reach just over $35 billion, and will almost double that in the next few years – and with newly legal states coming online, continued growth in the big states, more products, and more marketing of those products, it’s not hard to believe. A report from BDSA provides a deep look at where the industry is heading, but there’s a lot more behind the numbers to know for cannabis businesses and firms that serve those businesses. The report outlines key takeaways, market forecasts and consumer insights.” Full Article
– Insurance Journal
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS, HUMAN RESOURCES, & COMPLIANCE
DOL and HHS Meet with Health Insurance and Business Leaders to Discuss Mental Health, Substance Use Disorder Parity “DOL Secretary Marty Walsh and HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra met with industry leaders in a constructive dialogue, with commitments from attendees to continue to engage on these critical issues. They also raised the importance of contraceptive coverage and the need to do more to ensure women and families get this essential care.” Full Article – U.S. Department of Labor
Sixth Circuit: Employers Act as Fiduciaries When Managing Premium Payments for Benefit Plan “This case serves as an important reminder to employers that they may be held liable where their employees experience a loss in coverage under their welfare benefit plans from the mishandling of premium payments.” Full Article – The Wagner Law Group
State Policy Levers to Improve Access to Telebehavioral Health “States are utilizing a variety of policy levers to maintain access to telebehavioral health services. Commonly used levers include: [1] Creating allowances for out-of-state behavioral health providers; [2] Enabling coverage for audio-only telebehavioral health services; [3] Expanding telehealth-eligible provider types to include a broad range of behavioral health providers; and – Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
[4] Requiring payment parity for telebehavioral health visits.” Full Article
Employers Rush to Bolster Abortion-Travel Aid with Roe in Doubt “If the high court overturns the landmark 1973 decision, large employers that operate self-funded health plans could add provisions for beneficiaries in states that restrict the procedure to travel to other states to get abortion services. Employers that provide travel expenses for abortion could run afoul of state laws. Employers that don’t offer self-funded plans need to be aware of changes in state abortion laws because their health plans are covered by state insurance laws rather than ERISA.” Full Article – Bloomberg Law
Transparency Rules are in Full Force – Be Sure You are Ready! “The transparency rules do set forth protections for insured arrangements when the group health plan requires the insurer to provide such information via a written agreement. If insurer fails to comply, then the insurer violates transparency disclosure requirements, not the group health plan. A self- funded group health plan can enter into a written agreement requiring the TPA to provide the information. However, the plan is still responsible if the TPA fails to comply. Therefore, it is imperative to have an indemnification agreement with the TPA.” Full Article – Fraser Trebilcock
HHS Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2023 Final Rule: Fact Sheet “Overall, the final rule seeks to strengthen the coverage offered by qualified health plans (QHPs) on the federal Marketplace. These policies will also ensure consumers can more easily find the right form of quality, affordable coverage for their circumstances: [1] Standardized plan options; [2] Network adequacy; [3] Changes to actuarial value (AV) de minimis ranges; [4] Refine essential health benefits (EHB) nondiscrimination policy for health plan designs; [5] Special enrollment period (SEP) verification; [6] FFM and SBM-FP user fees; [7] Risk adjustment; [8] HHS risk adjustment data validation; [9] Advanced payments of the premium tax credit (APTC) proration; and [10] Require the display of explanations for QHP recommendations on web-broker websites.” Full Article – Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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.
California
Judge Rules That Race and LGBT Quotas for Corporate Board Members Violate the California Constitution
“A Los Angeles Superior Court judge recently ruled that a California law (Assembly Bill 979) requiring California corporations to implement race and LGBT quotas for their board of directors is unconstitutional.” Full Article
– Greenberg Traurig
Massachusetts
Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Updates – What You Need to Know
“The Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave has issued a series of updates concerning Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave (“MAPFML”). These updates reflect the latest changes made to MAPFML since the Department’s last quarterly briefing.” Full Article
– Mintz
New York
New York Employers Must Comply with Electronic Monitoring Notice and Acknowledgment Requirements by May 7, 2022
“The New York Attorney General’s Office will begin enforcing the new law on May 7, 2022. Potential penalties for violations range between
$500 for a first offense and up to $3000 for three or more offenses. Fines are per violation, i.e. per employee, so aggregate penalties under this format for even medium-sized employers may be significant for companies that ignore this obligation.” Full Article
– Nelson Mullins
Maine
Amended Maine Law Will Require Vacation Payout When Employment Ends
“Maine’s governor recently signed H.P. 160 – L.D. 225, amending the state’s final wages statute to require that “[a]ll unused paid vacation accrued pursuant to the employer’s vacation policy on and after January 1, 2023 must be paid to the employee on cessation of employment.” The amendment provides that private employers with 11 or more employees must pay all unused vacation to a separated employee at the cessation of employment.” Full Article
– Littler Mendelson
Mississippi
Mississippi Pay Equity Bill Crosses Finish Line
“Mississippi’s new law prohibits employers from paying “an employee a wage at a rate less than the rate at which an employee of the opposite sex in the same establishment is paid for equal work on a job, the performance of which requires equal skill, education, effort and responsibility, and which is performed under similar working conditions.” Full Article
– Jackson Lewis
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