Citing resistance from health and welfare plan service providers, the DOL updated its 2021 cybersecurity guidance to clarify that it “generally applies to all employee benefit plans, including health and welfare plans.” This clarification is the only material change in the update. Despite that, the update serves as a useful impetus for employers to survey
Health & Welfare
Revisiting Plan Service Provider Agreements: To Provide or Not To Provide to Plan Participants
In a previous blog post, we provided an overview concerning whether plan service provider agreements may be required to be disclosed to participants under Section 104(b)(4) of ERISA. A recent district court decision in California puts a renewed spotlight on this issue for employers and plan administrators who may receive these types of document…
Plan Service Provider Contracts: To Provide or Not To Provide To Plan Participants
You are working hard to administer your benefit plan in accordance with all the requirements of ERISA and the Code when you receive a written request for “a copy of the bargaining agreement, trust agreement, contract or other instrument under which the plan is established or operated.” This language is directly from Section 104(b)(4) of…
Peterson Illuminates Risks to Self-insure Health Plans and Highlights the Importance of Digging into Third Party Administrator Procedures
So your company sponsors a self-insured health care plan, and you’ve been tasked with administering the plan, but in reality, most of the day to day administration is handled a third party administrator (“TPA”). Just curious – do you know what your TPA’s policies are with respect to recovering overpayments? Do you know whether your…
Lessons Learned from Wilderness Therapy Cases: How to Draft Medical Plan Exclusions that Comply with Mental Health Parity Rules
“Wilderness therapy? What’s that?”
That’s the common response I receive when I mention that wilderness therapy is a hot topic in mental health parity litigation. Wilderness therapy is a form of residential treatment that uses nature and the outdoors as a therapeutic tool. Often used with operationally-defiant or drug-addicted teens, wilderness therapy combines traditional therapy…