Compliance Bulletin | July 2023

Welcome to the July 2023 edition of the Baldwin Bulletin, a compliance newsletter by the Baldwin Regulatory Compliance Collaborative (BRCC).

The Baldwin Bulletin serves as a monthly guide to important regulatory developments, legal news, and employee benefits-related industry happenings designed to keep you abreast of the latest developments.

This month’s issue focuses on important compliance deadlines that will apply this year, in addition to providing employers with information regarding certain hot-button compliance issues significantly impacting employers over the next several months.

Upcoming 2023 Compliance Deadlines. For information regarding upcoming compliance deadlines for employer-sponsored group health plans, including our compliance timeline explaining key compliance deadlines during August – December 2023. Read more here.

PCORI Fee Payment Reminder. Employers sponsoring self-insured health plans, including those with health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) integrated with their fully insured medical plans, take note that the annual PCORI fee payment is due on July 31 for plans with plan years ending during 2022.   Read more here.

IRS Memorandum Addresses Taxation of Wellness Benefits. The IRS Office of Chief Counsel has released an advice memorandum, addressing the taxation of wellness benefits that are provided through a fixed indemnity insurance policy.  Read more here.

ACA Litigation Update.  The parties to the Braidwood v. Becerra lawsuit, challenging the constitutionality of certain preventive care medications that must be covered without cost-sharing, have reached an agreement that would preserve the mandate until the case works its way through the courts.   Read more here.

Legislation update. Two bills designed to streamline the Affordable Care Act’s reporting and disclosure requirements, and another bill related to permitting stand-alone telehealth plans for all workers have been introduced in Congress, all with bipartisan support.  Read more here.

FTC Proposes Amendments to Health Breach Notification Rule. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a proposed amendment to strengthen and modernize its Health Breach Notification Rule. Read more here.

Question of the Month. Our “Question of the Month” concerns the upcoming gag clause attestation requirement due on December 31, 2023. Read more here.