The Daily Brief for Benefits Professionals
BenefitsWire
Health & Welfare Plans
September 16, 2026
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8 items · ~3 min read
In this issue
Regulatory Action and Guidance (2) · Health & Welfare Plans (4) · General Benefits (2)
Regulatory Action and Guidance
2 items“The MHPAEA, as amended in 2021, generally prohibits group health plans from offering health coverage that imposes more restrictive requirements and limitations on mental health and substance use disorder benefits than on medical/surgical benefits. The EBSA will now focus its primary NQTL enforcement efforts in three areas where the it believes there is the highest potential for significant harm to health plan participants: Those priorities appear consistent with the DOL’s most recent report to the U.S. Congress summarizing the EBSA’s MHPAEA enforcement activities.” MORE >>
Source: Ogletree Deakins
“According to the American Medical Association's 2025 Prior Authorization Physician Survey, physicians and their staff spend an average of 13 hours each week completing prior authorizations. Forty percent of physicians surveyed report having staff who work exclusively on prior authorization. Not every administrative process carries that level of burden. But the example illustrates a broader point: administrative work has a cost even when it does not appear as its own line on a financial statement. The cost is embedded in people's time. Manual processes become particularly expensive when they create rework. Every time information is incomplete, entered incorrectly, or transferred between disco” MORE >>
Source: Healthcare Dive
Health & Welfare Plans
4 items“Experts answer questions regarding plan sponsor fiduciary duties for health benefits.” MORE >>
Source: PLANSPONSOR
“More than half of employers plan to make cost-cutting changes to their health benefits in 2027, with some moves likely to push more costs onto workers, according to a new survey.” MORE >>
Source: Employee Benefit News
“U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles said there is “a genuine dispute of material facts” on the plaintiff’s disability discrimination and failure to accommodate claims. In a December 2025 lawsuit, a candidate alleged that SHRM rescinded a job offer after she requested to have her trained service dog accompany her to the office as a reasonable accommodation. She said her service dog was necessary to alert her “before her blood glucose level rises or falls to a dangerous degree due to her Type 1 diabetes,” per the complaint.” MORE >>
Source: HR Dive
“Key Insight: See why a proposed federal bill is redefining which fertility expenses qualify for HSA funds.What’s at Stake: Whether HR leaders must redesign family-building benefits around storage costs rather than IVF treatment.Forward Look: On the horizon: Monitoring the stalled fertility bill as more political leaders sign on.” MORE >>
Source: Employee Benefit News
General Benefits
2 items“On September 9, 2026, Governor Kathy Hochul signed Senate Bill S3460 (A.2107), creating for the first time a statewide right for New York employees and former employees to access, review, and challenge information contained in covered personnel records. The legislation significantly expands public and private employer obligations regarding personnel records, including record retention, disclosure, notice, and access rights. The new law amends the New York State Labor Law and is scheduled to take effect on November 8, 2026. However, when signing the bill, Governor Hochul required a Chapter Amendment,1 which will oblige the legislature to amend the bill to address: ambiguities that needed to b” MORE >>
Source: Littler
“As fiduciaries, plan sponsors could be liable if they implement AI tools without appropriate oversight, due diligence and participant protections. In an article recently published in the Third Quarter 2026 issue of Benefits Quarterly, we suggest plan sponsors follow these four steps: Not all AI solutions, including AI chatbots, are the same, and the risks posed vary depending on the type of AI used and the context in which it is deployed.” MORE >>
Source: Segal