Employee Benefits Security Administration – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document sets forth proposed rules related to certain provisions of the No Surprises Act regarding the Federal independent dispute resolution (IDR) process, which was established as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA). These proposed rules would set forth new requirements relating to the disclosure of information that group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance coverage must include along with the initial payment or notice of denial of payment for certain items and services subject to the surprise billing protections in the No Surprises Act. These proposed rules would also require plans and issuers to communicate information by using claim adjustment reason codes (CARCs) and remittance advice remark codes (RARCs), as specified in guidance, when providing any paper or electronic remittance advice to an entity that does not have a contractual relationship with the plan or issuer. This document also proposes to amend certain requirements related to the open negotiation period preceding the Federal IDR process, the initiation of the Federal IDR process, the Federal IDR dispute eligibility review, and the payment and collection of administrative fees and certified IDR entity fees. This document also proposes to define bundled payment arrangements, amend requirements related to batched items and services, and amend the rules for extensions of timeframes due to extenuating circumstances. Additionally, this document proposes to require plans and issuers to register in the Federal IDR portal. In accordance with Federal law, a summary of these rules may be found at https://www.regulations.gov/.

This document contains a notice of pendency before the Department of Labor (the Department) of a proposed amendment to Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 84-24, an exemption from certain prohibited transaction provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code). The amendment would affect participants and beneficiaries of plans, Individual Retirement Account (IRA) owners, and certain fiduciaries of plans and IRAs.

This document contains a notice of an exemption issued by the Department of Labor (the Department) from certain of the prohibited transaction restrictions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA or the Act). The exemption permits certain transactions arising from credit arrangements involving Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation (the Applicant or MUTB) and investment funds in which employee benefit plans invest.

This document sets forth proposed rules related to the fees established by the No Surprises Act for the Federal independent dispute resolution (IDR) process, as established by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA). These proposed rules would amend existing regulations to provide that the administrative fee amount charged by the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Health and Human Services (the Departments) to participate in the Federal IDR process, and the ranges for certified IDR entity fees for single and batched determinations will be set by the Departments through notice and comment rulemaking. These proposed rules would also set forth the methodology used to calculate the administrative fee and the considerations used to develop the certified IDR entity fee ranges. This document also proposes the amount of the administrative fee for disputes initiated on or after the later of the effective date of these rules or January 1, 2024. Finally, this document proposes the certified IDR entity fee ranges for disputes initiated on or after the later of the effective date of these rules or January 1, 2024. In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(4), a summary of this rule may be found at https://www.regulations.gov/.

This document provides notice of the pendency before the Department of Labor (the Department) of a proposed individual exemption from certain of the prohibited transaction restrictions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA or the Act) and/or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code). This proposed exemption would permit the receipt of a note by the UAW Retiree VEBA, as defined below, from the UAW, and the receipt of collateral on the note by the Retiree VEBA in connection with a court-approved settlement agreement.

This document contains a notice of an exemption issued by the Department of Labor (the Department) from certain of the prohibited transaction restrictions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA or the Act). The exemption permits: the Liberty Media 401(k) Savings Plan's (the Plan) acquisition of certain stock subscription rights (the Rights) to purchase shares of the Series C Liberty SiriusXM common stock (the Series C Liberty SiriusXM Stock), in connection with a rights offering (the Rights Offering) by Liberty Media Corporation (the Applicant or LMC); and the Plan's holding of the Rights during the subscription period of the Rights Offering.

This document proposes amendments to regulations implementing the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) and proposes new regulations implementing the nonquantitative treatment limitation (NQTL) comparative analyses requirements under MHPAEA, as amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA, 2021). Specifically, these proposed rules would amend the existing NQTL standard to prevent plans and issuers from using NQTLs to place greater limits on access to mental health and substance use disorder benefits as compared to medical/ surgical benefits. As part of these changes, these proposed rules would require plans and issuers to collect and evaluate relevant data in a manner reasonably designed to assess the impact of NQTLs on access to mental health and substance use disorder benefits and medical/surgical benefits, and would set forth a special rule with regard to network composition. These proposed rules would also amend existing examples and add new examples on the application of the rules for NQTLs to clarify and illustrate the protections of MHPAEA. Additionally, these proposed rules would set forth the content requirements for NQTL comparative analyses and specify how plans and issuers must make these comparative analyses available to the Department of the Treasury (Treasury), the Department of Labor (DOL), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (collectively, the Departments), as well as to an applicable State authority, and participants, beneficiaries, and enrollees. The Departments also solicit comments on whether there are ways to improve the coverage of mental health and substance use disorder benefits through other provisions of Federal law. Finally, HHS proposes regulatory amendments to implement the sunset provision for self-funded, non-Federal governmental plan elections to opt out of compliance with MHPAEA, as adopted in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (CAA, 2023).

The Department of Labor (the Department) is extending the comment period for the proposed individual exemption for certain prohibited transactions involving the Association of Washington Business (AWB) HealthChoice Employee Benefits Trust (the proposed exemption). As discussed in the DATES section below, the Department is extending the comment period through August 14, 2023.

This document contains a notice of exemption issued by the Department of Labor (the Department) from certain of the prohibited transaction restrictions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA or the Act) and/or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code). This exemption allows certain asset managers with specified relationships to PIMCO (the PIMCO Affiliated QPAMs) to continue to rely on the exemptive relief provided by Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14 (PTE 84-14 or the QPAM Exemption), notwithstanding the judgment of conviction against Allianz Global Investors US LLC (AGI US) for one count of securities fraud (the AGI US Conviction), as described below. This exemption does not grant any relief to AGI US. AGI US submitted an exemption request to the Department (D-12074), which it subsequently withdrew. The Department did not grant any relief to AGI US pursuant to its application or as part of this exemption.

On February 24, 2023, the Employee Benefits Security Administration for the U.S. Department of Labor (the Department or DOL) published a final rule on annual reporting requirements under Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA). This document contains two technical changes to the regulations: it changes the operational date of the final rule amendments to the regulations to address the Congressional Review Act (CRA) requirement under which a major rule cannot be effective until 60 days after publication in the Federal Register or receipt by Congress, whichever is later. The other corrects a typographical error in the lettering of a paragraph in the regulations.

This document contains a notice of exemption issued by the Department of Labor (the Department) from certain of the prohibited transaction restrictions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA or the Act) and/or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code). This exemption allows TTI to continue to rely on the exemptive relief provided by Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84- 14 (PTE 84-14 or the QPAM Exemption), notwithstanding the judgment of conviction against SMBC Nikko Securities, Inc. (Nikko Tokyo), as described below.

This document contains final forms and instructions revisions for the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan and Form 5500-SF Short Form Annual Return/Report of Small Employee Benefit Plan effective for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2023. The forms and instructions revisions relate to statutory amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code (Code) enacted as part of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act) for multiple-employer plans and groups of plans, as well as changes intended to improve reporting of certain plan financial information regarding audits and plan expenses and enhance the reporting of certain tax qualification and other compliance information by retirement plans. There are also some minor changes that further improve defined benefit plan reporting by building on changes made to the forms for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2022. The remaining changes are technical changes that are part of the annual rollover of the Form 5500 and Form 5500-SF forms and instructions. The revisions being finalized in this document affect employee pension and welfare benefit plans, plan sponsors, administrators, and service providers to plans subject to annual reporting requirements under ERISA and the Code.

This document contains exemptions issued by the Department of Labor (the Department) from certain of the prohibited transaction restrictions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA or the Act) and/or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code). This notice includes the following: 2023-03, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, D-12077; 2023-04, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona, Inc., D-12035; 2023-05, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont, D-12055; 2023-06, Hawaii Medical Service Association, D-12038; 2023-07, BCS Financial Corporation, D-12036; 2023-08, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Mississippi, D-12040; 2023-09, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska, Inc., D-12041; 2023-10, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Inc., D- 12045; 2023-11, Midlands Management Corporation 401(k) Plan, D-12031; 2023-12, DISH Network Corporation 401(k) Plan and the EchoStar 401(k) Plan, D-12012.

This document contains notices of pendency before the Department of Labor (the Department) of proposed exemptions from certain of the prohibited transaction restrictions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA or the Act) and/or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code). If granted, these proposed exemptions allow designated parties to engage in transactions that would otherwise be prohibited provided the conditions stated there in are met. This notice includes the following proposed exemptions: Unit Corporation Employees' Thrift Plan, D-12026; The Liberty Media 401(k) Savings Plan and The Liberty Media 401(k) Savings Plan Trust, D-12023; The Occidental Petroleum Corporation Savings Plan and The Anadarko Employee Savings Plan, D-12032 and D-12033.

These proposed rules would amend regulations regarding coverage of certain preventive services under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which requires non-grandfathered group health plans and non-grandfathered group or individual health insurance coverage to cover certain contraceptive services without cost sharing. Current regulations include exemptions and optional accommodations for entities and individuals with religious or moral objections to coverage of contraceptive services. These rules propose rescinding the moral exemption rule. These proposed rules also would establish a new individual contraceptive arrangement that individuals enrolled in plans or coverage sponsored, arranged, or provided by objecting entities may use to obtain contraceptive services at no cost directly from a provider or facility that furnishes contraceptive services. Contraceptive services would be available through the proposed individual contraceptive arrangement without any involvement on the part of an objecting entity. Under these proposed rules, a provider or facility that furnishes contraceptive services in accordance with the individual contraceptive arrangement for eligible individuals would be able to be reimbursed for its costs by entering into an arrangement with an issuer on a Federally-facilitated Exchange or State Exchange on the Federal platform, which in turn may seek a user fee adjustment.

This document contains a notice of exemption issued by the Department of Labor (the Department) from certain of the prohibited transaction restrictions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA or the Act) and/or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code). This exemption allows entities with specified relationships to JPMorgan Chase Co. (JPMC or the Applicant), located in New York, N.Y., to continue to rely on the exemptive relief provided by Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14 (PTE 84-14 or the QPAM Exemption), notwithstanding the judgment of conviction against JPMC, as described below.

As discussed in the DATES section below, the Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is announcing that it has posted the transcript on its website of the virtual public hearing regarding the proposed amendment to prohibited transaction class exemption 84-14 (the QPAM Exemption) and determined the closing date for the proposed amendment's reopened comment period.

This document contains an amended and restated Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFC Program or Program) under Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA) and a request for comment. The VFC Program is designed to encourage correction of fiduciary breaches by permitting persons to avoid potential Department of Labor (Department) civil enforcement actions and civil penalties if they voluntarily correct eligible transactions in a manner that meets the requirements of the Program. Based on its experience since the last revision of the Program in 2006, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has identified certain changes that will both simplify and expand the original VFC Program, thereby making the Program easier for, and more useful to, employers and others who wish to avail themselves of the relief provided by the Program. Specifically, the Program amendments add a self-correction feature, clarify some existing transactions eligible for correction under the Program, expand the scope of other transactions currently eligible for correction, and simplify certain administrative or procedural requirements for participation in and correction of transactions under the VFC Program.

This document provides notice of the pendency before the Department of Labor (the Department) of a proposed exemption extending the exemptive relief provided by PTE 2017-05 for an additional four (4) years. If this proposed exemption is granted, certain entities with specified relationships to Citigroup (hereinafter, the Citigroup Affiliated QPAMs and the Citigroup Related QPAMs, as defined in Sections I(f) and I(g), respectively) would not be precluded from relying on the exemptive relief provided by Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14 (PTE 84-14 or the QPAM Exemption), notwithstanding the Conviction (defined in Section I(a)), during the Exemption Period (as defined in Section I(d)).

This document provides notice of the pendency before the Department of Labor (the Department) of a proposed individual exemption from certain of the prohibited transaction restrictions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and/or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code). If the proposed exemption is granted, certain asset managers with specified relationships to JPMorgan Chase Co. (JPMC) (the JPMC Affiliated qualified professional asset managers (QPAMs) and the JPMC Related QPAMs) will not be precluded from relying on the exemptive relief provided by Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14 (PTE 84-14 or the QPAM Exemption), notwithstanding the judgment of conviction against JPMC, as described below.