The Daily Brief for Benefits Professionals
BenefitsWire
Health & Welfare Plans
September 10, 2026
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6 items · ~2 min read
Top of the Brief
DOL Issues Mental Health Parity Enforcement Guidance“The U.S. Department of Labor’s employee benefits arm issued guidance Tuesday on how to comply with federal laws that require employer health plans to produce an analysis of their mental health and substance use disorder coverage, which remains subject to litigation in D.C. federal court. The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) released the comprehensive set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and compliance templates to provide clarity on the heightened standards for comparative analyses required under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), as amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. This move comes at a critical juncture as the Biden-Harris ”
In this issue
Regulatory Action and Guidance (3) · Health & Welfare Plans (1) · General Benefits (2)
Regulatory Action and Guidance
3 items“The new FAQs state that the requirement for retroactive application of the award was in the preamble to the 2013 final regulations, but was not in the regulatory text. The federal agencies confirmed they will not take enforcement action against an employer for failing to provide a full reward retroactively to the beginning of the plan year after an employee satisfies a reasonable alternative standard. Employers only need to provide the reward prospectively, when the employee completes the alternative standard, if retroactive rewards are not otherwise provided.” MORE >>
Source: Ogletree Deakins
“On August 26, 2026 the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury (the “Departments”) jointly released FAQs addressing longstanding questions regarding health-contingent wellness programs. The guidance deals with incentives earned mid-year but not granted retroactively. The guidance offers welcome relief to employers that have struggled with the operational complexity of retroactive wellness rewards. Reward Requirements Under the ACA and Prior Guidance The Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) specifies that the “full reward” of a health-contingent wellness program must be available to all similarly situated individuals.” MORE >>
Source: kutakrock.com
“The U.S. Department of Labor’s employee benefits arm issued guidance Tuesday on how to comply with federal laws that require employer health plans to produce an analysis of their mental health and substance use disorder coverage, which remains subject to litigation in D.C. federal court. The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) released the comprehensive set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and compliance templates to provide clarity on the heightened standards for comparative analyses required under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), as amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. This move comes at a critical juncture as the Biden-Harris ” MORE >>
Source: recruit-talent.com
Health & Welfare Plans
1 item“Total Run Time: 2:07 Total Run Time: 2:07 Narrated by: Published: Deciding what health care gets covered largely falls to health insurers, and it’s not a role that wins them many fans.” MORE >>
Source: KFF
General Benefits
2 items“1:15 PM ET The Hamilton 820 Hamilton St.Charlotte, NC 28206 Heather Heath Ryan Brianna Hourihan 2026 is a pivotal year for employee benefits, with new legislation and disclosure obligations, continued regulatory initiatives, and novel and evolving benefits-related claims already taking shape.” MORE >>
Source: Troutman Pepper Locke
“Since ERISA plan fiduciaries will be responsible for AI’s mistakes, they need to have a clear understanding of the limits ERISA imposes on their ability to outsource to AI and their own responsibilities to review AI-created work product. Even if the fiduciaries are not using AI internally for administration they should not assume they are unaffected by these changes, since their recordkeeper and other third party providers are very probably doing so.” MORE >>
Source: Cohen & Buckmann, P.C.