The Daily Brief for Benefits Professionals
BenefitsWire
Health & Welfare Plans
August 18, 2026
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5 items · ~2 min read
Top of the Brief
More Employer Trump Account Contribution Guidance: Treasury Answers the Cafeteria Plan Question and Sets the Rules for Nondiscrimination Testing“As described in earlier Thompson Hine blog posts (here, here, here, and here), Trump accounts continue to take shape as a new employer-sponsored benefit.”
In this issue
Regulatory Action and Guidance (2) · Health & Welfare Plans (1) · Litigation (2)
Regulatory Action and Guidance
2 items“Effective August 10, 2026, WHD increased the prevailing H&W fringe benefits from a rate of $5.55 per hour to $5.92 per hour. Where a contractor is obligated to comply with Executive Order (EO) 13706 sick leave obligations, the rates increased from $5.09 per hour to $5.42 per hour.” MORE >>
Source: JD Supra
“As described in earlier Thompson Hine blog posts (here, here, here, and here), Trump accounts continue to take shape as a new employer-sponsored benefit.” MORE >>
Source: Thompson Hine (ERISA Litigation & Compliance)
Health & Welfare Plans
1 item“Respondents were split on who should solve the issues, with Democrats more likely to say the federal government and Republicans more likely to name insurers, according to the Commonwealth Fund.” MORE >>
Source: HR Dive
Litigation
2 items“In July 2026, the recent wave of putative class actions challenging employer wellness programs that impose a premium surcharge on plan participants who use tobacco hit a wall when two federal district courts issued decisions dismissing the cases in their entirety, and a third federal district court issued a decision dismissing the plaintiffs’ primary claim. This trio of decisions—Spencer v. Campbell Soup Company, Williams v. Target Corporation and Mueller v. United Surgical Partners International, Inc.—join a growing body of authority holding that the plaintiffs’ claims fail as a matter of law.” MORE >>
Source: Groom Law Group
“The laundry list of allegations include claims that UnitedHealth deceived investors, artificially inflated share prices and ignored cybersecurity deficiencies.” MORE >>
Source: Healthcare Dive