Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

The Departments of Labor, Treasury and Health and Human Services (collectively, the Departments) recently issued new guidance in the form of FAQs to plan sponsors and administrators of group health plans to assist with them with preparations for the end of the COVID-19 National Emergency and the Public Health Emergency.[1] [2]

As we move closer to implementation of the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”), companies should consider how the new law could affect their operations in multiple ways – including, for example, data collected through their employee benefit plans.

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The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has issued proposed rules (“ADA Proposed Rules”) on the extent to which employers may offer incentives to promote participation in wellness programs without violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). The ADA Proposed Rules apply if a wellness program includes disability-related inquiries or medical examinations, including inquiries or examinations that are part of a health risk assessment.  Health risk assessments are reported to be the most common form of incentivized employee wellness programs.¹ Thus, many employers would likely be impacted by these new rules if finalized.

The Affordable Care Act required the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a national health plan identifier (HPID) program under the HIPAA standard transactions rules. The resulting HHS rules generally require all HIPAA-covered entities, including self-insured plans with more than $5 million in annual claims, to obtain a HPID by November 5, 2014. Small self-insured health plans (i.e., those with annual claims of $5 million or less) will be required to obtain a HPID by November 5, 2015.

As the 2013 open enrollment season approaches, group health plan sponsors are trying to hold down health care costs.  Implementing a wellness program may be part of that effort.  The difficulty lies in designing a program that promotes wellness without running afoul of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).