Acquiring a Business Checklist (Private Company Target). In collaboration with our Law Department colleagues at Practical Law, we published this checklist, which addresses key business and legal considerations for buyers when acquiring a private US business, including significant considerations for health and welfare arrangements.

COBRA Election Notice. This new standard document reflects changes to the COBRA election notice relating to the health insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The drafting notes for this resource address other important issues for completing the election notice, for example, an option to provide a single election notice.

Contraceptives Coverage Under the ACA. We substantially updated this resource for new tri-agency FAQ guidance (May 2015) addressing the scope of contraceptive methods that must be covered under the ACA. Under the new guidance, which is subject to a delayed applicability date, plans and insurers must cover (without cost-sharing) at least one form of contraception in each of the 18 methods identified for women by the FDA in its current Birth Control Guide (see the related legal update ACA FAQs Address Coverage of Contraceptive Methods).

Employer Mandate Under the ACA: Employee Transfers, Measurement Periods and M&A. This entirely new resource addresses how to handle full-time employee determinations under the ACA's employer mandate when there is a change in the measurement period for an employee under the look-back measurement method. This resource also addresses rules for the M&A context if employers use different measurement periods.

Gender Transition in the Workplace Policy. This new policy, published in collaboration with our Practical Law Labor & Employment colleagues, addresses workplace concerns for transgender employees in the employee benefits context, including HIPAA privacy, nondiscrimination requirements under the ACA and coverage of gender-affirming health care procedures under self-funded and insured health plans. We also collaborated with our Labor & Employment colleagues in publishing Discrimination Under GINA: Basics, which expands on our GINA Compliance for Health and Welfare Plans resource.

Cost-Sharing Restrictions Under the ACA. We updated this resource to reflect new tri-agency FAQ guidance addressing a recent clarification under which the ACA's self-only maximum annual limit on cost-sharing applies to each individual, regardless of whether the individual is enrolled in self-only or non-self-only coverage. For additional background, see our related legal update (May 2015), ACA FAQs Address Coverage of Contraceptive Methods. We also expanded this resource to address recent litigation (May 2015) in which a district court concluded that a retiree health plan's lifetime maximum benefit limit did not violate the ACA's prohibition on lifetime limits on essential health benefits.

Nondiscrimination in Health Care Providers Under the ACA. This entirely new article addresses an ACA provision that prohibits certain types of health plans and insurers from discriminating against any health care provider that is acting within the scope of its license or certification under applicable state law. The article addresses FAQ guidance (May 2015) that expressly superseded prior FAQ guidance addressing this ACA nondiscrimination rule, and which was issued in response to a Congressional directive to correct the prior FAQ guidance.

Preventive Health Services Under the ACA, Other Than Contraceptives. We updated this resource to address EEOC guidance under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and to reflect new FAQ guidance under the ACA addressing the scope of required first-dollar coverage for preventive health services.

Wellness Programs. We substantially updated this resource, including to address guidance addressing new EEOC proposed regulations regarding wellness programs and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and recent HHS guidance regarding HIPAA's privacy, security and breach notification rules.

Wellness Programs: EEOC Rules Under the ADA. We recently published this entirely new resource, which addresses proposed EEOC guidance (April 2015) on when employers may use incentives to encourage employee participation in wellness programs that include disability-related inquiries or medical examinations. For more information, see our legal update (April 2015) on the new EEOC regulations, EEOC Rules Address Wellness Incentives Under the ADA.