New Year, New Laws

Welcome back, the Bar is open! This month, JD and Kerri discuss how two cases before the Supreme Court, Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce, may spell the end of Chevron deference, which would have a massive impact on how healthcare policy is administered. And in Last Call, J.D. eulogizes a fellow Fordham alum, Charles Osgood.

Happy Holidays from your friends at the Bar! Forget wrapping up 2023, we’re on to 2024! J.D. and Kerri look into the crystal ball to see what we’re likely to be talking about next year, including the Supreme Court taking up a mifepristone case, pharmacy benefit manager reform and price transparency in Congress, and fiduciary litigation for healthcare plans. And in Last Call, J.D. and Kerri name The Bar’s Person of the Year.

The Bar on Healthcare – November 2023: The ACA and Employer Sponsored Plans Welcome back to the Bar! This month, J.D. and Kerri widen the lens to take a look at how healthcare coverage purchased through the ACA exchanges has affected employer sponsored plans. We also discuss changes to the Medicare trust fund. And in Last Call, J.D. eschews sports references for a story about a library book that was due during Prohibition.

Happy Halloween from the Bar! This month, J.D. and Kerri bring you a different perspective on the proposed mental health parity regulations. Employers are weighing in, and they’ve got questions, including what qualifies as an NQTL, telehealth, and when these regulations might take effect. And in Last Call, J.D. is looking forward to the World Series.

The Bar takes one last summer road trip, this time visiting the nation’s capital to discuss the new mental health parity regulations. What do the new proposed regulations mean for employer group health plans, what are the compliance requirements, and what should plan sponsors expect in the coming months? We also discuss state pharmacy benefit manager reform, and the dreaded ERISA pre-emption. Finally, in Last Call, J.D. is ready for some football.

The Bar on Healthcare –August 2023: Mental Health Parity We’re in the dog days of summer (sorry, service animals only allowed in the Bar). This month, J.D. and Kerri go deep on the new mental health parity regulations, plus an update on the mifepristone case and an update on ERISA pre-emption. And during last call, J.D. conjures the power of the Netflix algorithm to recommend the unexpected hit of the summer.

The heat wave hasn’t slowed us down at The Bar—this month, J.D. and Kerri discuss the new regulations hot off the presses from Treasury, Labor and HHS! How “short” and “limited” is short term limited duration insurance? How will the IRS tax payments from employer-paid fixed indemnity policies? And what’s up with the new Mental Health Parity rules? And in Last Call, J.D. and Kerri channel their inner Siskel & Ebert and tout the return of the summer blockbusters!

It’s summertime at the Bar, and while normally that means drinks with little umbrellas in them, this summer it means looking back at a consequential Supreme Court case, and the effect it has had on group health plans at both a federal and state level over the past 12 months. J.D. and Kerri also revisit ERISA pre-emption, the Braidwood case and the end of the COVID-19 pandemic era emergencies. In Last Call, J.D. gives us his July 4th weekend streaming picks.

The City of Brotherly Love welcomes you to the Bar! This month, J.D. and Kerri give an update on a handful of topics affecting employer group health plans, including an update on what’s going both in the states and federally with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), the Washington state long term care mandate, and updates on some important litigation working its way through the courts. And in Last Call, J.D. salutes Philadelphia and probably jinxes their basketball team.

The Bar is open and we’re back on the road, coming to you from Aon’s annual Albuquerque Health Forum. In a jam-packed episode, Kerri and J.D. discuss the latest from Congress, an update on the end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency and National Emergency. They also have a litigation update, from the fight over mifepristone to the Braidwood preventative medicine case. And in Last Call, J.D. salutes Albuquerque – it’s difficult to spell but easy to love.