The Daily Brief for Benefits Professionals
BenefitsWire
Health & Welfare Plans
October 13, 2026
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7 items · ~2 min read
In this issue
Health & Welfare Plans (2) · Executive Compensation (1) · General Benefits (3) · Litigation (1)
Health & Welfare Plans
2 items“Medical professionals recognize at least 34 symptoms associated with perimenopause and menopause—including hot flashes and night sweats, joint pain, brain fog, heart palpitations, anxiety, migraines, and sleep disruption. Until recently, menopause was largely absent from workplace policy and employment law in the United States. That is changing rapidly.” MORE >>
Source: JD Supra
“Less expensive options and customized levels of support can help employers make these medications work within their benefits plan. With health benefit costs expected to rise 8.2% in 2027, employers are looking for ways to control spending without simply shifting more costs to workers.” MORE >>
Source: Employee Benefit News
Executive Compensation
1 item“California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1697 into law on September 30, 2026, amending with immediate effect the clawback (stay-or-pay) law enacted last year ... to give employers some relief.” MORE >>
Source: Epstein Becker Green
General Benefits
3 items[Regulatory Action and Guidance]
New bill would overhaul the No Surprises Act’s arbitration process“Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., introduced a bill last week that would eliminate the arbitration process set up by the No Surprises Act to resolve out-of-network bills between providers and payers. It’s the latest sign of growing interest on the Hill to reform independent dispute resolution, or IDR, as concerns mount that the process might be inflating healthcare spending by billions of dollars. The bill, introduced Thursday and dubbed the “Lower Premiums, Faster Payments Act,” would end arbitration entirely between payers and providers after 2027.” MORE >>
Source: Healthcare Dive
[Regulatory Action and Guidance]
California Overhauls Its Insurance Privacy Law: What SB 354 Means for Insurers“On September 27, 2026, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 354, repealing California's Insurance Information and Privacy Protection Act (IIPPA) and replacing it with a modernized Insurance Information and Privacy Protection Act (the Act). The Act establishes new standards for the processing and sharing of consumers' personal information by licensees, surplus line insurers, reinsurers, and their third-party service providers. It becomes operative on July 1, 2028, when the existing IIPPA becomes inoperative; and the California insurance commissioner must adopt regulations no later than January 1, 2029, applying key provisions to producers, including sample notices, forms, and compliance d” MORE >>
Source: Faegre Drinker
“Fall is a common time for employers to consider new benefits for the upcoming year. During discussions with benefit providers and consultants, employers may be pitched a “wellness indemnity program” for employees. These wellness indemnity programs promise significant tax savings that often sound too good to resist. Unfortunately, these programs usually do not provide the tax treatment that promoters promise, and the IRS has repeatedly made its position clear.” MORE >>
Source: Warner Norcross + Judd
Litigation
1 item[Regulatory Action and Guidance]
Hospitals sue over revamped 340B rebate pilot“It’s the second time the HHS has tried to kickstart a 340B rebate program — and the second time hospitals have sued to block it, alleging rebates will threaten their financial viability.” MORE >>
Source: Healthcare Dive