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The COVID-19 pandemic, the deadliest of its kind in a century, created a wave of human suffering and severe economic disruption. In April 2020, the U.S. unemployment rate reached 14.8 percent, a full four points above the previous post–World War II high.REF
Amidst concerns that the economy could spiral into a new depression as a result of pandemic-related economic restrictions, legislators passed five relief bills that authorized over $4 trillion in combined spending.REF The combination of record-setting spending and reduced revenue caused a surge in gross federal debt, spiking from $23.4 trillion on March 13, 2020, to $27.9 trillion on February 9, 2021,REF an increase of over $34,000 per household in less than 11 months.REF
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The “No Surprises” Act: Congress Enacts Legislation to End Surprise Medical Billing in Omnibus Year-End Spending Bill Wednesday, February 24, 2021
The recently-enacted Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 includes the long-debated “No Surprises” Act (the “Act”), which addresses how providers are paid for certain out-of-network health care services, and removes patients from the middle of out-of-network reimbursement disputes. The Act comprehensively addresses all types of commercial health plans by amending the Public Health Service Act (“PHSA”), the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”), and Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (“FEHBP”), each with substantially similar companion provisions. These provisions, summarized in brief below, will be effective January 1, 2022. Agency rules are expected to start rolling out in July 2021.
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Avoiding potential confusion about survivor benefits.
Retirement Counseling and Training www.retirefederal.com
In last week’s column, we looked at an important, but sometimes confusing, question on retirement application forms about former spouses and annuities.
Another part of the retirement application that can be confusing when there is a former spouse involved is the annuity election for survivor benefits (Section D of the SF-3107 Federal Employees Retirement System Application for Immediate Retirement and Section F of the SF-2801 Civil Service Retirement System Application for Immediate Retirement.)
If you’re not married at retirement, generally you will initial the box beside Option 3: “I choose an annuity payable only during my lifetime.” If you have a former spouse who was awarded a survivor annuity in a court order, they will receive that automatically from the Office of Personnel Management. You don’t need to indicate i
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Supreme Court Holds that ERISA Does Not Preempt Arkansas PBM Law: The Impact on Employer Sponsored Group Health Plans Thursday, December 31, 2020
In a recently decided case,
Rutledge v. Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) does not preempt an Arkansas statute that regulates reimbursement levels paid by Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) to local pharmacies. The Court determined that the Arkansas law affected only the cost of prescription drugs, thus lacking the requisite connection to ERISA-covered plans to trigger preemption. The decision gives the green light for state-by-state regulations of PBM networks and payment practices. The impact of
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