Compliance Bulletin | October 2023

Welcome to the October 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, read more here.

Medicare Part D Annual Disclosure Due October 13. Employers that offer prescription drug coverage must provide notices of “creditable” or “non-creditable” coverage to Medicare-eligible employees or covered dependents at least annually, typically before the beginning of each year’s Medicare Part D annual enrollment period.  Read more here.

The Latest on HIPAA Enforcement. The L.A. Care Health Plan, the nation’s largest public health plan, was assessed a $1.3 million penalty and required to submit to a corrective action plan to address several HIPAA compliance deficiencies and potential violations. Read more here.

Comment Period for Mental Health Parity Proposed Regulations Extended. Employers and plan sponsors have an additional 15 days to comment on the recently proposed regulations under the Mental Health Parity and Equity Addiction Act.  Read more here.

Chicago Region Mandates Commuter Benefits. Illinois Governor Pritzker has recently signed into law the Transportation Benefits Program Act, requiring certain employers in the Chicago region to provide a pre-tax commuter benefit that complies with Internal Revenue Code Section 132. Read more here.

Free COVID-19 Test Kits Available. COVID-19 home test kits are once again being made available free of charge to all U.S. households. Read more here.

Insurance Coverage of Updated COVID-19 Vaccines. With the transition of the responsibilities for COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing, procurement and pricing to the commercial insurance markets, the federal government will no longer be guaranteeing that these vaccines will be provided free of charge. Accordingly, the Kaiser Family Foundation has put together a “cheat sheet” in the form of a chart reflecting the requirements for providing COVID-19 vaccines to individuals covered by private and public insurance, as well as regarding those who are uninsured. Read more here.

Litigation News. CIGNA has been hit with another lawsuit, its second this year, regarding its claims processing process, and a court ruled against Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in a mental health parity case. Read more here.

Question of the Month. Our “Question of the Month” concerns whether employers are required to provide participants with summary plan descriptions annually. Read more here.