MARY POWELL, June 2017 On June 22, 2017, Senator Mitch McConnell released a draft of the Better Care Reconciliation Act (“BCRA”), which is the Senate’s version of a replacement bill of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). An amended version of the BCRA was released on June 26, 2017. Process A Senate […]
Author: Trucker Huss
ARIEL GAKNOKI, June 2017 There have been numerous instances of high-profile cybercrime cases over the past couple of years spurring lively discussions in the ERISA community about the potential threat this type of crime poses to plan assets and personal data of plan participants and beneficiaries. Except when there has been a high profile […]
T. KATURI KAYE, June 2017 On May 18, 2017, California State Treasurer John Chiang and Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) issued a press statement announcing that California remains on track to implement the California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program (“Secure Choice” or the “Program”), a state-sponsored program requiring employers that […]
NICHOLAS WHITE, ROBERT GOWER and ADRINE ADJEMIAN, May 2017 Following months of uncertainty stemming from a February 3, 2017, Presidential memorandum ordering the Secretary of Labor to conduct a review of the final fiduciary advice regulatory package (the “Final Rule”), including a 60-day delay in its applicability date, it seems all but certain the […]
ACA Replacement Clears Its First Hurdle: An Analysis of What’s Next (Trucker Huss Webinar on May 24)
ERIC SCHILLINGER, May 2017 On Thursday, May 4, the House of Representatives narrowly passed the American Health Care Act (AHCA), a budget reconciliation bill that would repeal and replace many provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) that relate to the individual insurance market, Medicaid and employer-sponsored group health plans (GHPs). […]
JENNIFER TRUONG, March 2017 A string of cases in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals is putting ERISA claims administrators on notice that falling short of strict compliance with the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) claims and appeal regulations may cost administrators a deferential standard of review. And, this shift towards “strict compliance” is not […]
ERIC SCHILLINGER, March 2017 On Friday, March 24th, Speaker Paul Ryan cancelled a House of Representatives vote scheduled for that day on the American Health Care Act (AHCA), a bill that proposed to repeal, replace and revise various tax- and spending-related aspects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). As explained in […]
ROBERT R. GOWER, March 2017 On Friday, March 10, 2017, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published on its website Field Assistance Bulletin 2017-01 (“the FAB”) providing a temporary enforcement policy for the DOL’s Fiduciary Rule and related Best Interest Contract Exemption (“BICE”). The Fiduciary Rule and BICE, which have become the subject of reevaluation […]
ERIC SCHILLINGER, March 2017 On Monday, March 6, the House Ways and Means Committee and Energy and Commerce Committee each released formal proposals partially repealing and replacing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”). Signed into law in 2010 by then-President Barack Obama, the ACA significantly changed the federal laws governing health […]
BARBARA PLETCHER, February 2017 On December 28, 2016 (at the end of the Obama administration), the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued Interpretive Bulletin 2016-1 (IB 2016-1) to document DOL views regarding shareholder rights such as voting of proxies and shareholder activism/ engagement. This Interpretive Bulletin also addresses maintenance of and compliance with investment […]
JENNIFER A. MATTHEWS, February 2017 When the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued its recent final wellness plan rules under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (“GINA”), it was attempting to clarify previous rules and interpretive guidance. And clarification was needed. Even the best-intentioned employers were sometimes unsure […]
NICHOLAS J. WHITE, February 2017 Just a few hours before our webinar on March 1st, entitled What Comes Next? — Lessons Learned & Practical Implications of the Fiduciary Rule Under Review, the Department of Labor (DOL) released a proposed rule extending the April 10th applicability date of the Fiduciary Rule (the “Rule”) by 60 […]
ROBERT R. GOWER, February 2017 On Friday, February 3, 2017, President Trump signed an executive order calling for the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) to review the DOL Fiduciary Rule (the “Rule”), which is scheduled (by its terms) to become applicable on April 10, 2017. The implications of the request for review may […]
CLARISSA A. KANG, January 2017 The fiduciaries of retirement plans for 12 major universities have been hit with coordinated lawsuits asserting breaches of fiduciary duty arising from allegedly excessive fees for administrative and investment management services, imprudent selection and monitoring of recordkeepers and investment options, underperforming plan investment options, and a “paralyzing” array of […]
FREEMAN L. LEVINRAD, January 2017 On January 18, 2017, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) released proposed regulations (the “Proposed Regulations”) broadening the definition of employer contributions that will qualify as qualified nonelective contributions (“QNECs”) and qualified matching contributions (“QMACs”). This broadened definition allows for the use of forfeitures to fund QNECs and QMACs. QNECs […]
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