Recent Legal Developments

To ensure that our legal representation remains accurate, thorough and well informed, we stay on top of the latest developments in laws, cases and guidance that could affect our clients. Recent legal developments we have analyzed include:

• Interim Final Regulations implementing the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008
• IRS Notice 2010-83 regarding funding relief under the Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010
• DOL Final Regulations regarding disclosure of fee and expense information by participant-directed individual account pension plans
• DOL Final Regulations regarding Qualified Domestic Relations Orders
• Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010
  • Early Retiree Reinsurance Program
  • Extension of coverage for dependent children
  • Elimination of preexisting condition exclusions and coverage rescissions
  • Elimination of lifetime benefit limits and increases in annual benefit limits
  • Grandfathered status
  • Patient protections and preventative care
  • Changes to claims and appeals procedures
  • Long-term issues (e.g. the health care exchanges)
• DOL Regulations regarding disclosure obligations under the PPA, technical corrections to PPA
• Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010
• Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010
• American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, including the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act ("HITECH")