Gender-Affirming Care and Group Health Plans: Insured vs. Self-Funded Plans, Applicable Federal Laws, State Law Issues
Recording of a 90-minute premium CLE video webinar with Q&A
This CLE webinar will provide employee benefits and ERISA counsel a detailed analysis of the current state of gender-affirming care and navigating the challenges faced by health plan sponsors and administrators. The panel will discuss applicable federal regulations that must be considered, including the ERISA preemption doctrine, Affordable Care Act (ACA), MHPAEA, and HIPAA, along with state law issues that may arise. The panel will also discuss current approaches to gender-affirming coverage and offer best practices for insured and self-funded plans and pitfalls to avoid.
Outline
- Current state of gender-affirming care and benefits
- Applicable federal laws
- Challenges for insured and self-funded health plans
- Recent state law developments and key issues
- Best practices for gender-affirming coverage
Benefits
The panel will discuss these and other key issues:
- Recent developments in gender-affirming benefits
- Applicable federal laws that must be considered by plan sponsors and administrators
- Key issues for both insured and self-funded health plans
- State laws restricting or limiting gender-affirming care
- Best practices and pitfalls to avoid for plan sponsors
Faculty
Alden J. Bianchi
Counsel
McDermott Will & Emery
Mr. Bianchi is the Practice Group Leader of the firm’s Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Practice.... | Read More
Mr. Bianchi is the Practice Group Leader of the firm’s Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Practice. He advises corporate, not-for-profit, governmental, and individual clients on a broad range of executive compensation and employee benefits issues, including qualified and non-qualified retirement plans, stock and stock-based compensation arrangements, ERISA fiduciary and prohibited transaction issues, benefit-related aspects of mergers and acquisitions, and health and welfare plans. Mr. Bianchi is nationally renowned for his advice on the Affordable Care Act's impact on employers. He represented the Romney administration in connection with the historic 2006 Massachusetts health care reform act. Mr. Bianchi has testified before the Senate Finance Committee on the subject of health care reform. His many published works include the Bloomberg/Bureau of National Affairs Health Care Reform Advisor, a comprehensive work on the impact of the Affordable Care Act on employers and employer-sponsored group health plans. Mr. Bianchi is also the current chair of the Bloomberg Tax Compensation Planning Journal Advisory Board.
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Scott Kenkel
Associate
McDermott Will & Emery
Mr. Kenkel focuses his practice on employee benefits and executive compensation matters. He has experience assisting... | Read More
Mr. Kenkel focuses his practice on employee benefits and executive compensation matters. He has experience assisting clients with regulatory compliance matters related to tax-qualified retirement plans and executive compensation arrangements. Mr. Kenkel also regularly works with clients on benefits and compensation issues in connection with corporate transactions.
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Sarah G. Raaii
Partner
McDermott Will & Emery
Ms. Raaii focuses her practice on employee benefits and matters related to health care reform, data privacy and HIPAA... | Read More
Ms. Raaii focuses her practice on employee benefits and matters related to health care reform, data privacy and HIPAA compliance, executive compensation, and health and welfare, cafeteria, 401(k), 403(b) and pension plans. She has experience counseling clients on regulatory compliance with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), Internal Revenue Code and related state and federal laws affecting employee benefit plans. Ms. Raaii assists clients with drafting employee benefit plan documents and amendments and represents clients before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), US Department of Labor (DOL) and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation with respect to plan qualification issues. She also advises clients on employee benefits diligence, design, implementation and transition matters arising from corporate and private equity mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining McDermott, Ms. Raaii worked for the National Economic Council at the White House, where she implemented the Affordable Care Act and developed the DOL fiduciary rule with leaders from the Executive Office of the President, the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of the Treasury. She previously worked with in-house attorneys and federal and state government relations professionals in the Leadership Development Program of a Fortune 500 global insurance and financial services corporation.
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