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
Update: FEMA Flood Maps are Misleading, Blocking Insurance Uptake, Report Shows
“Researchers at North Carolina State University have added their voices to the growing number of people who say that federal flood maps are inadequate and misleading, causing thousands of homeowners to avoid needed flood insurance. “In fact, only about 4% of homeowners nationwide have flood insurance — a problem that can be largely attributed to the flood maps created by the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” reads the report, based on research by Georgina Sanchez, a research associate at NC State’s Center for Geospatial Analytics.” Full Article
– Insurance Journal
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS, HUMAN RESOURCES, & COMPLIANCE
McDonald’s Settles Class Action Lawsuit Over Improper COBRA Notices “Class members consist of 9,000 former employees, all of whom received the deficient COBRA notices between December 15, 2017, and February 9, 2021, and did not opt to receive continued COBRA coverage. These individuals will receive estimated net payments of between $7 and $10.” Full Article – Hall Benefits Law
Cash for Colonoscopies: Colorado Tries to Lower Health Costs Through Incentives “Employers in the state are banding together to negotiate lower prices for health care services. The state government is one of 12 employers that have agreed to join the alliance and will be the first to use the newly negotiated rates and consumer incentives.” Full Article – Kaiser Health News
2022 Employer Health Benefit Survey “In 2022, the average annual premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance are $7,911 for single coverage and $22,463 for family coverage. Thirty-three percent of covered workers at small firms are enrolled in a plan where the employer pays the entire premium for single coverage. This is the case for only 6% of covered workers at large firms.” Full Article – Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
Out-of-Pocket Health Care Spending: A Second Opinion About Rising Costs “Between 2013 and 2019, the share of total medical expenditures paid out of pocket by patients increased, from 17.4 percent to 19 percent. Patients are increasingly enrolling in plans with higher deductibles. This is driving up out-of-pocket expenses in the aggregate, even though out-of-pocket expenses in higher-deductible plans have remained flat or have decreased.” Full Article – Employee Benefit Research Institute
The California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act: HIPAA’S Stricter Counterpart “The Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, a California law protecting the confidentiality of individually identifiable medical information obtained by healthcare providers, health insurers, and their contractors, was amended to prohibit the disclosure of medical information related to sensitive services … Specifically, this prohibits the disclosure of medical information to anyone other than the enrollee without the individual’s express written authorization, including the policyholder or parent of a minor patient.” Full Article – McDonald Hopkins
IRS Expands Mid-Year Cafeteria Plan Change Opportunities to Address “Family Glitch” “Starting January 1, 2023, a non-calendar year cafeteria plan may permit an employee to revoke prospectively an election for family coverage so that the employee’s family members can enroll in ACA marketplace coverage if: [1] One or more of the employee’s family members are eligible to enroll in Marketplace coverage during a special enrollment period or during Marketplace annual open enrollment, and [2] The revocation of the employee’s family coverage election corresponds with the intended enrollment of the family member in the Marketplace plan. Employers are not required to adopt these new permitted election changes.” 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.
CALIFORNIA
New California Laws Impacting Employers
“Effective October 1, 2022, an amendment to the District of Columbia’s Human Rights Act (“the Act”) will expand the universe of workers protected under the Act, as well as codify workplace harassment as an unlawful discriminatory practice.” Full Article
– Cooley
Meal and Rest Break Claims Now Pose High Financial Risks to California Employers
“While perhaps overlooked in favor of other high-profile rulings (we’re looking at you, Viking River Cruises), the California Supreme Court’s decision in Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, Inc., No. S258966 (Cal. May. 23, 2022) may turn out to be one of the most significant cases of the year for California employers.” Full Article
– Greenberg Traurig
MARYLAND
Maryland Expands Employers Reasonable Accommodation Obligations to Applicants with Disabilities
“Since October 1, 2022, Maryland employers are obligated to reasonably accommodate not only the disabilities of employees, but also the disabilities of applicants. with Disabilities Act (ADA).” Full Article
– Lurch Early & Brewer Chartered
NEW YORK
NYC DCWP Purposes Rules to Implement New Law Governing Automated Employment Decision Tools
“On October 24, 2022, the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (“DCWP”) proposed rules to implement its new law regarding automated employment decision tools (“AEDTs”).” Full Article
– Hunton, Andrews & Kurth
CONNECTICUT
Connecticut Expands Anti-Discrimination Protections
“Connecticut’s broad anti-discrimination laws just got broader. The Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act (CFEPA) prohibits discrimination based on many protected characteristics, such as race, age and disability. The CFEPA is broader than federal anti-discrimination laws in both coverage (it applies to more employers) and scope (it covers more categories of employees).” Full Article
– Day Pitney
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