The Daily Brief for Benefits Professionals
BenefitsWire
Health & Welfare Plans
October 2, 2026
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12 items · ~4 min read
Top of the Brief
Duane Morris LLP - Federal Departments Issue Wellness Program FAQs, but Questions Remain“The three U.S. Cabinet departments announced that they will not take enforcement action against a plan that provides a wellness program reward only on a prospective basis rather than retroactively to the first day of the plan year. Such enforcement relief is conditioned on the plan (1) providing the reward corresponding to the period after the reasonable alternative standard is satisfied and (2) otherwise satisfying the applicable wellness program regulations.”
In this issue
General Benefits (6) · Health & Welfare Plans (4) · Litigation (1) · Regulatory Action and Guidance (1)
General Benefits
6 items[Regulatory Action and Guidance]
Senate Unanimously Approves Bipartisan Taxpayer Assistance and Service ActThe Senate unanimously approved the Taxpayer Assistance and Service Act, a bipartisan package of reforms aimed at modernizing the IRS, strengthening taxpayer rights, and improving tax administration. MORE >>
Source: Senate Finance Committee
[Regulatory Action and Guidance]
Social Security Claiming Clarity Act Awaits President’s Signature“Congress passed a bill changing the descriptions for Social Security claiming ages, as experts consider the impact of potential benefit cuts.” MORE >>
Source: PLANSPONSOR
[Health & Welfare Plans]
Maryland FAMLI Compliance Starts Before Benefits Begin: A Practical Employer Checklist“FAMLI benefits will provide eligible Maryland employees with 12 weeks of paid, job-protected leave to welcome a new child, tend to their own serious health condition, care for a loved one with a serious health condition, or manage urgent family needs related to military deployment. Eligible employees may receive benefits of up to $1,000 per week while on leave. These benefits are paid through the state or a state-approved private plan and funded through the contributions described below.” MORE >>
Source: Frost Brown Todd
“The long-term care (LTC) insurance industry has shown significant interest in the use of predictive analytics to develop more accurate projection assumptions for the purposes of reserving, rating, and valuation. This article first summarizes how these techniques avoid some of the disadvantages of traditional actual-to-expected (A:E) experience studies. It then dives into new model visualization approaches used to shed light on the “black-box” nature of advanced modeling techniques. These visualizations help better highlight and understand the key drivers of predictions so that they can be understood and validated by all stakeholders.” MORE >>
Source: Milliman
[Regulatory Action and Guidance]
California Expands Cal-WARN Notice Requirements for AI-Related Workforce Reductions“California has enacted Senate Bill (SB) 951, expanding the information employers must provide when a workforce reduction covered by the California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (Cal-WARN) results from artificial intelligence or other automated technology. The new requirements take effect January 1, 2027.” MORE >>
Source: National Law Review
“The Senate confirmed Keith Sonderling as secretary of labor on Wednesday evening in a 47-to-41 vote along party lines.” MORE >>
Source: JD Supra
Health & Welfare Plans
4 items[Regulatory Action and Guidance]
Duane Morris LLP - Federal Departments Issue Wellness Program FAQs, but Questions Remain“The three U.S. Cabinet departments announced that they will not take enforcement action against a plan that provides a wellness program reward only on a prospective basis rather than retroactively to the first day of the plan year. Such enforcement relief is conditioned on the plan (1) providing the reward corresponding to the period after the reasonable alternative standard is satisfied and (2) otherwise satisfying the applicable wellness program regulations.” MORE >>
Source: duanemorris.com
“It’s HRSA’s second attempt to kickstart a 340B rebate program, after the first was blocked by a judge in a case brought by hospital groups last year. This summer, the agency announced a revised pilot, and now has disclosed a full list of which medications made the cut. The list has significant overlap with HRSA’s original approvals last fall, including Abbvie’s Imbruvica, Amgen’s Enbrel, AstraZeneca’s Farxiga, Bristol Myers’ Eliquis, Merck’s Januvia and Boehringer Ingelheim’s Jardiance. Though, it includes 21 drug approvals to last year’s 14.” MORE >>
Source: Healthcare Dive
[General Benefits]
Developing DOL Attempts to Clarify Mental Health Parity for Employers“In an attempt to clarify the ambiguous status of current Mental Health Parity enforcement and employer plan sponsors’ obligation, the DOL published Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2026-03. While we like to give an ‘A’ for effort, it’s difficult to grade to content of this FAB above a ‘C’. The DOL reminds us that at its core, the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) generally prohibits group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance coverage from offering health coverage that imposes more restrictive requirements and limitations on Mental Health or Substance Use Disorder benefits than on medical or surgical benefits. The Consolidat” MORE >>
Source: heffins.com
[General Benefits]
GLP-1s Have Disrupted the Market for Other Diabetes Drugs | Segal“American Diabetes Association guidelines increasingly position glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1s) earlier in treatment for many patients with type 2 diabetes. The growth in use of GLP-1s to treat diabetes has been dramatic. Almost half of diabetics now use Mounjaro®, Ozempic® or other GLP-1s, according to a recent analysis of data from SHAPE, Segal’s proprietary health data warehouse.” MORE >>
Source: Segal
Litigation
1 item“Thirteen Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) carriers are suing CVS Health over the prices it charges for some generic drugs in its $4 drug program. The insurance carriers claim that CVS improperly manipulated the “usual and customary prices” of those drugs.” MORE >>
Source: Hall Benefits Law
Regulatory Action and Guidance
1 item"On April 1, 2026, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued Technical Release 2026-01 (the “Technical Release”), providing guidance regarding the application of ERISA’s fiduciary requirements to proxy advisory firms. The Technical Release addresses the fiduciary responsibilities of plan fiduciaries that use proxy advisers, the circumstances under which proxy advisory firms may be treated as ERISA fiduciaries, and the extent to which ERISA preempts state laws regulating proxy advisory services." MORE >>
Source: Trucker Huss
Also of Note
- California Revises Stay-or-Pay Provisions Under AB 1697 — “In 2025, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 692, which made it unlawful to include in any employment contract or requirement that a worker execute, as a condition of employment, a contract that includes terms that require the worker to pay an employer, training provider, or debt collector for a debt if the worker’s employment or work relationship with a specific employer terminates, unless it fell under one of five exceptions.” (JD Supra)