The Daily Brief for Benefits Professionals
BenefitsWire
Health & Welfare Plans
September 28, 2026
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6 items · ~2 min read
In this issue
Regulatory Action and Guidance (1) · Health & Welfare Plans (2) · Litigation (2) · General Benefits (1)
Regulatory Action and Guidance
1 item“This Field Assistance Bulletin #2026-03, regarding guiding principles for Employee Benefits Security Administration's (EBSA's) enforcement of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) was issued by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) on September 8, 2026. This bulletin's goal is to narrow and streamline enforcement of nonquantitative treatment limitations (NQTLs) under the MHPAEA . . .” MORE >>
Source: openminds.com
Health & Welfare Plans
2 items“In a recent announcement, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) held a press conference announcing the rebrand of Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRAs) as CHOICE Arrangements. The event was held in Indiana to highlight the state’s 2024 law establishing the nation’s first tax credit for small businesses offering ICHRAs and to encourage other states to consider similar incentives, to increase awareness and uptake of the model. Qualifying Indiana employers with fewer than 50 employees can receive an ICHRA tax credit of up to $400 per covered employee in the first year and $200 per covered employee in the second.” MORE >>
Source: HR Dive
“When asked on a scale of 0 to 10 how confident they are in their understanding of their benefits, the mean score was 7.89. One-quarter of participants responded with a 10, while 34% of them chose 7 or less. These scores illustrate that a one-size-fits-all approach won’t produce the best results. Providing blanket open enrollment resources is crucial in simply communicating what’s being offered. For your employees who would respond to a question like that with a 10, that might be all they need. For those 7 or less, try to create opportunities for deeper questions to be answered.” MORE >>
Source: HR Dive
Litigation
2 items“Plaintiff argued that a 2019 Maine statute, Me. Stat. § 2847-V, which bars group health and disability policies from reserving sole or absolute discretion to the insurer, displaced that clause and required de novo review. The court disagreed. It read the statute to reach only policies issued, continued, or renewed after the statute took effect, and found that the plan here was issued in 2014 with a claim arising in 2016.” MORE >>
Source: Roberts Disability Law
“Deere & Co. a/k/a John Deere has filed a motion to dismiss former employees’ claims that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) governs its severance program.” MORE >>
Source: Hall Benefits Law
General Benefits
1 item“CUBS found that from 2024 to 2025, after considering plan design changes, health plan cost trend (medical and Rx combined) increased close to 4 percent for PPO/POS plans. Key Findings on Health Benefits Preferred provider organization (PPO)/point-of-service (POS) plans are the most prevalent type of medical plan offered, followed by HDHPs (31%) of PPO/POS plans use copayments for the brand formulary and brand non-formulary prescription drug tiers, with a median copayment of $30 and $50, respectively Median in-network deductible for individual coverage The average contribution percentage range for family coverage in PPO/POS plans is 25 to 30 percent, which is lower than multi-industry contrib” MORE >>
Source: Segal