COBRA's Gross Misconduct Exception. We updated this resource to address recent litigation in which a district court concluded that it could not resolve (at the summary judgment stage) a dispute over a local governmental employer's failure to offer COBRA coverage to employees it terminated for allegedly taking and deleting 55,000 files.

Domestic Partner Health Benefits. We expanded this resource's discussion of how employees can demonstrate that they have entered into a domestic partnership—including to address a recent court decision emphasizing the importance of complying with plan procedures evidencing domestic partnerships.

MEWA Liability in Mergers and Acquisitions. This newly published article addresses how employers can avoid potential liabilities and compliance failures in mergers and acquisitions involving multiple employer welfare arrangements (MEWAs). This resource discusses three transaction scenarios involving MEWAs and addresses how to avoid potential liabilities and compliance failures.

Short-Term, Limited-Duration Insurance (STLDI): 2024 Final Regulations. This entirely new resource addresses final regulations issued by the federal administrative agencies in 2024 concerning the meaning of short-term, limited-duration insurance (STLDI). The 2024 final regulations revised the definition of STLDI to permit an initial coverage term of not more than three months with a one-month extension, for a total maximum duration of four months (including renewals or extensions).

Transparency in Coverage (TiC) Notice. This newly published notice is for use by employer-sponsored group health plans and health insurers in complying with disclosure requirements under the Affordable Care Act's (ACA's) transparency in coverage (TiC) provisions, as implemented.

Transparency in Coverage (TiC) Requirements Under the ACA: Participant Disclosures. This new practice note (the first of two companion resources) addresses a disclosure requirement under the ACA's TiC rules that requires plans and insurers to timely disclose certain information about the costs of covered items and services under a plan.

Transparency in Coverage (TiC) Requirements Under the ACA: Public Disclosures. This new resource (the second of two companion resources) addresses TiC regulations under the ACA that require group health plans and insurers to comply with disclosure and reporting requirements involving price transparency. Under the TiC rules, plans must publicly post on a website three machine-readable files (MRFs) that separately include in-network rates with providers for all covered services, out-of-network allowed amounts and billed charges for covered services, and negotiated rates and historical net prices for prescription drugs.

Transparency in Coverage (TiC) Under the ACA Toolkit. This new toolkit is a collection of resources to help employers and their advisors comply with cost transparency requirements under the ACA that apply to group health plans and health insurers. The ACA's TiC requirements were implemented through extensive final regulations.

Voluntary Benefits. This resource is updated to reflect recent litigation addressing the DOL's safe harbor for voluntary benefits, including cases regarding the safe harbor's applicability where an employee begins paying premiums (instead of the employer) for policy coverage.

Whistleblower Complaints Under the ACA. We updated this resource to reflect a recent case in which an employee's ACA whistleblower claim survived an employer's motion to dismiss.