Employee Benefits Security Administration – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document provides notice of the withdrawal of three proposed individual exemptions from certain prohibited transaction restrictions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code (the Code). The proposed exemptions were issued by the Department of Labor on August 24, 2022.

This document is a request for information (RFI) to inform DOL, HHS, and the Treasury (collectively, the Departments) and OPM's rulemaking for advanced explanation of benefits (AEOB) and good faith estimate (GFE) requirements of the No Surprises Act, which was enacted as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA). This RFI seeks information and recommendations on transferring data from providers and facilities to plans, issuers, and carriers; other policy approaches; and the economic impacts of implementing these requirements.

The Department of Labor (the Department) is extending the comment period for a proposed amendment to prohibited transaction class exemption 84-14 (the Proposed QPAM Amendment). Additionally, the Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) will hold a virtual public hearing regarding the Proposed QPAM Amendment. EBSA welcomes comments and requests to testify at the hearing from the general public. As discussed in the DATES section below, the Department also will reopen the comment period for the Proposed QPAM Amendment in connection with the hearing.

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). Under the exemption, the Comcast Corporation Comprehensive Health and Welfare Benefit Plan (the Plan) will enter into an insurance contract with an unrelated A-rated insurance company (the Fronting Insurer) that will, in turn, enter into a reinsurance contract with One Belmont Insurance Company (One Belmont), an affiliate of Comcast (the Reinsurance Arrangement). Under the Reinsurance Arrangement, One Belmont will reinsure the Plan's risks.

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: Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, D-12077; Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, D-12039; Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona, Inc., D-12035; Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont, D-12055; Hawaii Medical Service Association, D-12038; BCS Financial Corporation, D-12036; Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Mississippi, D-12040; Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska, Inc., D-12041; BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Inc., D-12045; Triple-S Management Corporation, D-12042; National Account Service Company LLC, D-12049.

This document gives notice of a proposed rule that, if adopted, would supersede the Department of Labor's (the Department) existing procedure governing the filing and processing of applications for administrative exemptions from the prohibited transaction provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code), and the Federal Employees' Retirement System Act of 1986 (FERSA). The Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) is authorized to grant exemptions from the prohibited transaction provisions of ERISA, the Code, and FERSA and to establish an exemption procedure to provide for such relief. The proposed rule would update the Department's prohibited transaction exemption procedures.

This document amends six class exemptions from prohibited transaction rules set forth in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA or the Act) and the Internal Revenue Code (the Code). The amended exemptions are Prohibited Transaction Exemptions (PTEs) 75-1, 80-83, 81-8, 95-60, 97-41 and 2006-16. The amendments relate to the use of credit ratings as conditions in these class exemptions. Section 939A of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act requires the Department to remove any references to or requirements of reliance on credit ratings from its class exemptions and to substitute standards of creditworthiness as the Department determines to be appropriate. The amendments affect participants and beneficiaries of employee benefit plans, owners of individual retirement accounts (IRAs), fiduciaries of employee benefit plans and IRAs, and the financial institutions that engage in transactions with, or provide services or products to, the plans and IRAs.

This document provides withdrawal of a notice of 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).

This document contains final revisions to the instructions 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, 2021. These final revisions to the instructions were included in a broader proposal of form and instruction changes published on September 15, 2021. The limited number of instruction changes in this document implement annual reporting changes for multiple-employer plans (including pooled employer plans) that result from statutory provisions in section 101 of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act). The other changes to the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report included in the September 2021 proposal will be the subject of one or more separate and later final notices.

This document sets forth interim final rules implementing provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (the Code), the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), and the Public Health Service Act (PHS Act), as enacted by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA). These provisions are applicable to group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance coverage. These interim final rules add provisions to existing rules under the Code, ERISA, and the PHS Act. These interim final rules implement provisions of the Code, ERISA, and PHS Act that increase transparency by requiring group health plans and health insurance issuers in the group and individual markets to submit certain information about prescription drugs and health care spending to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Labor (DOL), and the Department of the Treasury (collectively, the Departments). The Departments are issuing these interim final rules with largely parallel provisions that apply to group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance coverage. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is also issuing interim final rules that require Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) carriers to report information about prescription drugs and health care spending in the same manner as a group health plan or health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage.

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: L- 12002, Retirement System of the American National Red Cross; D-11955, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, and Current and Future Affiliates and Subsidiaries.

The Department of Labor (the Department), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA 95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the reporting burden on the public and helps the public understand the Department's information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. Currently, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is soliciting comments on No Surprises Act: IDR Process, Affordable Care Act Internal Claims and Appeals and External Review Procedures for ERISA Plans, and Opt-in State Balance Bill Process. A copy of the information collection request (ICR) may be obtained by contacting the office listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.

This document sets forth interim final rules implementing certain provisions of the No Surprises Act, which was enacted as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. These interim final rules implement provisions of the No Surprises Act that provide for a Federal independent dispute resolution (IDR) (Federal IDR) process to permit group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance coverage and nonparticipating providers, facilities, and providers of air ambulance services to determine the out-of-network rate for items and services that are emergency services, nonemergency services furnished by nonparticipating providers at participating facilities, and air ambulance services furnished by nonparticipating providers of air ambulance services, under certain circumstances. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Labor (DOL), and the Department of the Treasury (collectively, the Departments) are issuing these interim final rules with largely parallel provisions that apply to group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance coverage and certified IDR entities, providers, facilities, and providers of air ambulance services. In addition to the interim final rules issued jointly by the Departments, this document also includes interim final rules issued by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to clarify how certain No Surprises Act provisions apply to health benefits plans offered by carriers under the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Act. In addition to the interim final rules issued jointly by the Departments and OPM, this document includes interim final rules issued by HHS that address good faith estimates of health care items and services for uninsured or self-pay individuals and the associated patient-provider dispute resolution process. The HHS-only interim final rules apply to selected dispute resolution (SDR) entities, providers, facilities, and providers of air ambulance services.

This document sets forth proposed rules implementing certain provisions of Title I (No Surprises Act) and Title II (Transparency) of Division BB of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA). These proposed rules would amend and add provisions to existing rules under the Internal Revenue Code (Code), the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act (PHS Act), and the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Act. These proposed rules would implement certain provisions of the No Surprises Act that would increase transparency by requiring group health plans and health insurance issuers in the group and individual markets, and FEHB carriers, to submit certain information about air ambulance services to the Secretaries of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and the Treasury, and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, as applicable, and by requiring providers of air ambulance services to submit certain information to the Secretaries of HHS and Transportation. These proposed rules also include HHS-only proposed rules that would increase transparency by requiring a health insurance issuer offering individual health insurance coverage or short-term, limited-duration insurance to disclose to policyholders and to report to HHS any direct or indirect compensation provided by the issuer to an agent or broker associated with enrolling individuals in such coverage. These proposed rules would also provide the process by which HHS would investigate complaints and potential violations of PHS Act provisions and, if warranted, take enforcement action, including the imposition of civil money penalties, against providers and facilities, including providers of air ambulance services. These proposed rules would amend existing regulations to clarify the process to investigate complaints and potential violations of the PHS Act and impose civil money penalties against plans and issuers. These proposed rules would also establish the process by which HHS would impose civil money penalties if a provider of air ambulance services fails to submit some or all required data to HHS.

This document contains proposed amendments to Department of Labor (DOL) regulations relating to annual reporting requirements under Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA). The proposed amendments contained in this document would conform these DOL reporting regulations to proposed revisions under Title I of ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code (Code) to the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan and Form 5500-SF Short Form Annual Return/Report of Small Employee Benefit Plan being published in this issue of the Federal Register in a separate Notice of Proposed Forms Revisions (NPFR) prepared jointly by DOL, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) (collectively ``Agencies''). Those proposed form changes and these proposed regulatory amendments primarily implement statutory changes enacted as part of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act). Conforming changes also are being proposed to the requirements for the summary annual report. The proposed regulatory amendments would 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.

The Department of Labor (the Department), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is soliciting comments on the proposed information collection request (ICR) described below. A copy of the ICRs may be obtained by contacting the office listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.

This notice announces a meeting of the State All Payer Claims Databases Advisory Committee (hereinafter the Committee). This notice provides information to members of the public who may be interested in attending the meetings or providing written comments related to the work of the Committee. Notice of this meeting is required under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).

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 document is a request for information on issues related to certain reporting requirements under section 204 of Title II of Division BB of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) that are applicable to group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance coverage. The Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury (the Departments) are issuing this request for information to gather input from the public regarding implementation considerations for the data collection required under section 204 of Title II of Division BB of the CAA, and the associated impact on group health plans and health insurance issuers. As part of this request for information, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is also seeking input from the public regarding implementation considerations for the data collection required under section 204 of Title II of Division BB of the CAA as it pertains to Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) carriers (whether or not they are also health insurance issuers). The Departments and OPM also seek input on specific data elements, including the level of detail that is feasible to report for entities subject to the data collection requirements and the associated burdens and potential compliance costs. Public comments will inform the Departments' and OPM's implementation of section 204 through rulemaking and the establishment of processes to receive the required information.

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). The exemption affects the ability of certain entities with specified relationships to Goldman Sachs to continue to rely upon relief provided by Prohibited Transaction Exemption 84-14 (PTE-84-14).

This notice announces the first meeting of the State All Payer Claims Databases Advisory Committee (hereinafter the Committee). This notice provides information to members of the public who may be interested in attending the meeting or providing written comments related to the work of the Committee. Notice of this meeting is required under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).