The Daily Brief for Benefits Professionals
BenefitsWire
Health & Welfare Plans
July 21, 2026
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6 items · ~2 min read
In this issue
Regulatory Action and Guidance (1) · Health & Welfare Plans (1) · Litigation (1) · General Benefits (2) · Webinars (1)
Regulatory Action and Guidance
1 item“The final rules largely track the January proposed rules but include several notable clarifications responsive to stakeholder comments. They formalize the regulatory label “Protected Time Off,” define it to have the same meaning as “safe/sick time” under Administrative Code Section 20-912, and fold in the additional authorized uses and the immediately available hours requirement established by Local Law 145.” MORE >>
Source: Ogletree Deakins
Health & Welfare Plans
1 item“Eleven percent of U.S. adults currently take GLP-1 medications for weight loss, up from 3% in 2024, according to the Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index. Another 15% said they have used the drugs for weight loss at some point, up 9 percentage points from 2024. At the same time, companies are also facing sharp increases in healthcare costs, with more of that burden increasingly falling on employees, said Jason Macaleer, chief strategy officer at Vida Health, a digital health company that provides virtual obesity and chronic care management programs.” MORE >>
Source: Employee Benefit News
Litigation
1 item“We recently shared insights into four notable decisions by the federal appellate courts related to the close scrutiny courts give to a plaintiff's identification of its trade secrets.” MORE >>
Source: Faegre Drinker
General Benefits
2 items[Litigation]
Clover Health hit with data breach“The insurer, which disclosed the breach in a securities filing late last week, doesn’t yet know what type of data was exposed or how many people may have been impacted. Breaches in healthcare have soared over the past decade, as outdated IT systems and limited cybersecurity resources are exploited by bad actors hungry for the lucrative personal and medical data maintained in the sector.” MORE >>
Source: Healthcare Dive
“Employees are often asked to determine where to seek care, whether a service is covered, how much it will cost, and what steps to take next. As healthcare benefits become more sophisticated, those decisions can become increasingly difficult to navigate. For HR leaders, that challenge matters. Healthcare is one of the largest investments employers make in their workforce, yet many employees still struggle to use the benefits available to them with confidence. In my experience, most people don't want more healthcare information. They want clarity.” MORE >>
Source: HR Dive
Webinars
1 item[General Benefits]
HSAs, FSA, HRAs, and Voluntary Insurance Programs: ERISA vs. Non-ERISA Compliance“This session will provide ERISA counsel with a review of the advantages and legal risks of health savings accounts (HSAs), flexible spending accounts (FSAs), health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), and voluntary insurance programs for both employers and employees. Topics will include structuring HSAs to avoid ERISA coverage, ERISA and IRC compliance requirements for FSAs and HRAs, and recent litigation trends affecting voluntary insurance programs, along with the potential liabilities employers may face if their HSA plans become subject to ERISA due to mistakes in plan structure.” MORE >>
Source: Groom Law Group