Compliance Bulletin | May 2023

Welcome to the May 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 for the remainder of the year, read more  Read more here.

President Biden Announces Early End to COVID National Emergency; Outbreak Period Still Ends July 10. The outbreak period end date remains July 10, 2023, despite President Biden’s announcement that the national emergency ended on April 10^th, which presumably would end the outbreak period 60 days later, or June 9^th. In addition, the Department of Labor (DOL) has published related resources in the form of frequently asked questions on its website. Read more here.

Updated Instructions for June 1 RxDC Reporting Deadline. In anticipation of the upcoming reporting deadline of June 1, 2023 (for the 2022 reference year), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued updated reporting instructions. Read more here.

End of Public Health Emergency Also Ends HIPAA Enforcement Notification Discretion. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)’ Office of Civil Rights (OCR), the arm of the agency in charge of enforcing HIPAA’s data privacy and security requirements, announced that the Notifications of Enforcement Discretion issued during the COVID-19 public health emergency will expire at the end of the day, May 11, 2023, due to the expiration of the COVID-19 public health emergency. Read more here.

OCR Issues Proposed HIPAA Privacy Rule for Confidentiality of Reproductive Health Care. The OCR recently issued a proposed privacy rule in response to the confusion and concern caused by the new legal landscape in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling last year that overturned a woman’s federal right to an abortion. . Read more here.

Guidance on Implications of the Braidwood Ruling on ACA’s Preventive Services Requirement. The Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and U.S. Treasury have jointly issued frequently asked questions to provide initial guidance on how the recent Braidwood court decision affects the requirement to cover preventive services without cost sharing under the Affordable Care Act. Read more here.

Payroll Tax Withholding for Washington Cares Fund to Begin July 1, 2023.  Payroll tax withholding under the Washington Long Term Care Act will begin on July 1, 2023, for companies with employees in Washington State. Read more here.

Question of the Month. Our “Question of the Month” concerns the obligation to offer COBRA coverage with respect to a participant’s health care flexible spending account (FSA) upon termination of employment. Read more here.