WASHINGTON, DC – In a letter sent to U.S. House of Representative leadership today, the American Benefits Council offered strong support for the Lower Cost, More Transparency (LCMT) Act, a bipartisan health care measure now pending in the chamber.
On September 11, the Council filed an amicus brief requesting that the Ninth Circuit grant a rehearing en banc in the case of Bugielski v. AT&T, a 401(k) fee case in which a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit recently ruled that a prohibited transaction occurs any time that a plan sponsor amends a contract with a service provider.
The American Benefits Council will hold a one-hour Benefits Briefing Webinar on Monday, September 11, from 1 to 2 p.m. Eastern Time, to discuss the Biden administration's long-awaited guidance under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). (See the Council's July 25 Benefits Byte for more details.)
WASHINGTON, DC – "Retirement plan sponsors are grateful to the Internal Revenue Service for issuing critically important relief today under the SECURE 2.0 Act," said Diann Howland, vice president, legislative affairs.
WASHINGTON, DC- The American Benefits Council (the Council) applauds the August 15 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) v. Mulready, which upheld the vitally important federal preemption principle enshrined by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
In an August 14 letter to U.S. Treasury Department Secretary Janet Yellen, the Council emphasized "the increasingly urgent need for the announcement of a delay as soon as possible," explaining that "if there is not a delay, for many companies, their only means of compliance will be to eliminate all catch-up contributions for 2024."
On July 19, the American Benefits Council filed an amicus ("friend of the court ") brief in support of final regulations issued by the U.S. departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury (the "tri-agencies"), implementing the arbitration process set up under the No Surprises Act (NSA).
WASHINGTON, DC – More than 225 employers have signed a letter to Congress and the U.S. Treasury Department urging a two-year delay of a newly enacted retirement plan requirement, explaining that there is not enough time to comply.