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
APCIA Says Property Insurance Market ‘Hardest in a Generation’
“A combination of historic high inflation and a growing frequency of natural catastrophes is creating the hardest market in a generation for property insurance, the American Property and Casualty Insurance Association says in a new white paper. “The growth of population, housing, and businesses in hazard-prone areas are exacerbating the effects of climate change, leading to more frequent and severe catastrophe losses,” stated Karen Collins, the APCIA’s vice president, property and environmental, in a press release. “The higher costs of capital and reduced reinsurance capacity are further exerting upward pressure on insurance rates and may result in stricter underwriting in catastrophe-exposed markets.”” Full Article
– Insurance Journal
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS, HUMAN RESOURCES, & COMPLIANCE
No Surprises Act Gives Plan Sponsors Savings Opportunities “The No Surprises Act also provides an employer or plan sponsor of an ERISA group health plan an opportunity to revisit their plan’s administrative services agreements with their third-party administrator TPA and reduce or eliminate certain fees being charged by the TPA.” Full Article – Hall Benefits Law
IRS FAQs Explains When Health FSAs, HSAs, or HRAs Can Reimburse Nutrition, Wellness, and General Health Expenses “These FAQs do not break new ground or include any surprises. However, they may be helpful to those on the ‘front lines’ of cafeteria plan administration, who are sometimes asked to explain the reasons for plan operating rules and decisions.” Full Article – Thomson Reuters/ EBIA
Telehealth and the End of the COVID-19 Emergency “The stand-alone telehealth relief under the ACA is available until the end of the latest plan year that begins on or before the last day of the PHE. For calendar-year plans, this relief would last until December 31, 2023. When an employer ends its stand-alone telehealth benefit, it may need to provide participants a 60-day notice of a material reduction in benefits.” Full Article – McDermott Will & Emery
States Act to Strengthen Surprise Billing Protections Even After Passage of No Surprises Act “Where state law is more consumer- protective, the state law remains in effect. The NSA allows states to specify how payment disputes between insurers and providers are resolved. The federal approach does not apply if a state specifies its own mechanism. States may develop their own processes for enforcing the NSA and specified state laws.” Full Article – The Commonwealth Fund
DOL Annual Report to Congress on Self-Insured Group Health Plans (PDF) “Approximately 74,100 group health plans filed a Form 5500 for 2020, an increase of nearly 13 percent from 2019. Self-insured plans covered nearly 35 million participants and held more than $112 billion in assets, while mixed-insured plans covered roughly 29 million participants and held $157 billion in assets.” Full Article – Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor
Insulin as Preventive Care: Why Not Eliminate Patient Cost Sharing? “The No Surprises Act also provides an employer or plan sponsor of an ERISA group health plan an opportunity to revisit their plan’s administrative services agreements with their third-party administrator TPA and reduce or eliminate certain fees being charged by the TPA. Sponsors have a fiduciary obligation under ERISA to understand these fees and how they can be reduced.” Full Article – Health Affairs
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.
Cal/OSHA Proposes Changes to Update Workplace Exposure to Lead Regulations “On March 3, 2023, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board published notice of proposed revised regulations pertaining to workplace exposure to lead for the general industry and construction safety orders.” Full Article – Jackson Lewis PCCALIFORNIA
Paid Leave for Nearly All Illinois Employees Coming Soon “Paid leave for any reason is coming to Illinois. On March 13, 2023, Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Paid Leave for All Workers Act (Paid Leave Act), which requires employers to provide up to 40 hours of paid leave to nearly all employees in Illinois. The Paid Leave Act becomes effective on January 1, 2024.” Full Article – Cooley LLPILLINOIS
Paid Family Leave Comes to Maryland “Maryland has joined 10 other states and the District of Columbia in passing a paid family leave law. Under the new Time to Care Act of 2022 (TCA), eligible employees may apply to a state-administered fund that will be used to provide up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave, with the possibility of another 12 weeks for parental leave.” Full Article – Gordon Feinblatt LLCMARYLAND
Delaware is Moving Away from Broadly Enforcing Non-Competition Restrictions “Delaware courts are joining a growing list of legislative, judicial, and regulatory bodies that view restrictive non-competition covenants unfavorably. In three recent Chancery Court opinions, Delaware courts reflect an evolution in jurisprudence regarding restrictive covenants’ interpretation.” Full Article – Frost Brown Todd LLPDELAWARE
Michigan Senate Votes Repeal 2012 Right-to-Work Law “The “right-to-work” law prohibits union-security agreements, which required private and/or public employees to pay union dues or services fees as a condition of obtaining or continuing employment. Employees in unionized jobs who opted out of the union are still afforded rights and benefits as members of the bargaining unit. The bill will now return to the House for a vote before it goes to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for her signature.” Full Article – Plunkett Cooney PCMICHIGAN
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