COVID-19

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On January 30, 2023, the Biden Administration announced that both the COVID-19 National Emergency and the Public Health Emergency (collectively, the “Emergency Declarations”) would end on May 11, 2023, sunsetting nearly three years of extended deadlines and certain mandates related to COVID-19 testing and vaccines applicable to employer-sponsored…

On February 4, 2022, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury (the “Departments”) released additional Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding group health plan coverage of over-the-counter at-home COVID-19 tests (OTC Tests) plans, without participant cost-sharing, ‎preauthorization, or medical management.  The February FAQs provide clarification on the…

Beginning January 15, 2022, and continuing throughout the duration of the public health emergency, group health plans and insurers are required to cover over-the-counter (OTC) at-home COVID-19 ‎tests (OTC Tests), including tests not ordered by a ‎health care provider, without participant cost-sharing, preauthorization, or medical management, according to Frequently Asked…

In our September 2, 2021 QuickStudy, we outlined the various laws governing wellness plans and described how group health plans might structure a premium surcharge for employees who have not received the COVID-19 vaccine to fit within such existing rules. This week, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services,…

On August 23, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first COVID-19 vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 disease in individuals 16 years of age and older. The vaccine, which has been referred to as the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine and has been available only under an emergency use…

Under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the “Act”), certain individuals who are eligible for COBRA coverage as a result of an involuntary termination of employment or reduction in hours may be eligible to receive a 100% subsidy for COBRA coverage for a six-month period beginning April 1, 2021…

As discussed in our prior blog post, on April 28, 2020, the Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, Internal Revenue Service, and Treasury Department (the “Agencies”) published joint guidance extending certain important deadlines that are otherwise applicable to employee benefit plans.  Specifically, the Agencies ordered that all…

On August 8, 2020, President Trump issued the Presidential Memorandum on Deferring Payroll ‎Tax Obligations in Light of the Ongoing COVID-19 Disaster (the “Executive Order”).  The ‎Executive Order instructed the Treasury Department to provide guidance authorizing employers ‎to defer the collection and deposit of employee payroll tax obligations.  On August

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