MEDICARE PART D COVERAGE NOTICES DUE MID-OCTOBER
The October 14, 2022 deadline by which plan sponsors that offer prescription drug coverage to...
The Birch Blog
———Birch Welcomes Joe Ross as Strategy and Consulting Leader
Birch Benefits, a full-service employee benefits firm based in Wayne, PA, welcomes Joe Ross as...
COMPLIANCE ALERT – ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE ISSUED ON SURPRISE BILLING PROTECTIONS
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA) introduced numerous protections against...
COMPLIANCE ALERT – TOUGHER ENFORCEMENT OF THE CONTRACEPTION MANDATE ON THE HORIZON
On July 28, 2022, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury (the...
FAQ: TRANSPORATION HEALTH REIMBURSEMENT ARRANGEMENT (HRA) FOR MEDICALLY-RELATED TRAVEL EXPENSES
In response to the significant amount of interest regarding HRAs that reimburse travel-related...
RECENT FEDERAL EFFORTS TO AFFIRM ACCESS TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTHCARE SERVICES
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization,...
RECENT POSTS
COMPLIANCE ALERT – 2024 Out-of-Pocket Limits Released
The Department of Health and Human Services has announced the new out-of-pocket (OOP) limits that will apply to group and individual health plans during the 2024 plan year. To comply with the ACA, non-grandfathered health plans cannot require a participant to pay more...
COMPLIANCE ALERT – Telehealth Relief Included in End-Of-Year Omnibus Bill
On December 23, 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (CAA23) was signed into law. While this legislation does not include as many health provisions as the CAA of 2021, it does include the anticipated relief on telehealth coverage offered through qualified...
Mental Health Benefits Are Still Underutilized. Here’s What You Can Do for Your Employees
Last year, nearly 60% of U.S. employees admitted to struggling with work-related stress. Currently, prescription drug utilization for behavioral health issues is at an all-time high, indicating that many Americans in today’s workforce are seeking treatment for...
COMPLIANCE ALERT – Philadelphia Commuter Benefits Ordinance
The "Employee Commuter Benefit Transit Ordinance" is a new law mandating that employers with 50 or more employees working in Philadelphia must offer employees a pre-tax commuter benefit by December 31, 2022. Read our full compliance alert for details.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ISSUES FINAL RULE TO END THE “FAMILY GLITCH”
The Biden Administration issued a final regulation and a new IRS notice on October 11, 2022, which eliminate the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) “family glitch” beginning on January 1, 2023. The “glitch” refers to the fact that the ACA’s current affordability standard is...