As part of the American Benefits Council's ongoing efforts to streamline employer compliance with state-level retirement programs for private-sector employees, on March 29 we submitted testimony with the Oregon state Senate Committee on Labor and Business, urging passage of an amendment to a bill altering the state's OregonSaves retirement initiative.
Statement for the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Hearing Record, "Lowering Unaffordable Costs: Examining Transparency and Competition in Health Care"
In connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trump administration declared a national emergency (NE), effective March 1, 2020, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) declared a public health emergency (PHE), effective January 31, 2020. There was subsequently a flurry of COVID-19-related new laws and agency guidance and relief. Some of these are tied to the PHE, some of these are tied to the NE, and some are tied to neither. In late January 2023, President Biden announced his intention that the PHE and NE end on May 11, 2023, and HHS confirmed this with respect to the PHE (which it has jurisdiction over). The termination of the PHE and NE raises several questions on whether and how certain provisions will continue to apply.
The new session of Congress brings with it a change of party control in the U.S. House of Representatives and changes in the committee leadership of many key committees in both the House and the U.S. Senate. The following summary sets forth the leadership, key issues and policy outlook for the five congressional committees with jurisdiction over employee benefits policy.
On December 8 and 9, the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) ERISA Advisory Council (EAC) finalized its recommendations and presented them to Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh on the two topics for the 2022 session: (1) cybersecurity insurance and employee benefit plans and (2) cybersecurity issues affecting health benefit plans. A written report will follow in early 2023.
