The Phia Group Blog

By: Jon Jablon, Esq. There’s no question that stop-loss insurance is important – or, more likely, absolutely necessary – for the viability of a self-funded health plan. As helpful as this measure of protection can be, however, it is not…

By: Andrew Silverio, Esq. On March 5, 2021, the northern district of California came down with a decision that is causing some justifiable concern among TPAs in California and beyond.  The root of the dispute is a self-funded plan’s application…

By: Kelly Dempsey, Esq. Change that creates challenge is nothing new for the self-funded industry, which is why the amount of changes that have been required to address COVID-19 are not a shock to our industry. But now that we’re…

By: Jon Jablon, Esq.   Our consulting team recently fielded a great question, which is worth mentioning here. The text of the law provides that health plans:   …”must have a database on the public website of such plan or…

By: Nick Bonds, Esq.   COBRA continuation coverage has never been what I would call “intuitive.” Even under the most straightforward of circumstances, COBRA involves a byzantine labyrinth of rules and timelines, for employers and beneficiaries alike. In the time…

By: Andrew Silverio, Esq. On Friday, February 26, the EBSA released its Disaster Relief Notice 2021-01 (available at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/employers-and-advisers/plan-administration-and-compliance/disaster-relief/ebsa-disaster-relief-notice-2021-01), addressing a conflict that many commentators had already picked up on – the fact that previous relief (see https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/05/04/2020-09399/extension-of-certain-timeframes-for-employee-benefit-plans-participants-and-beneficiaries-affected#footnote-2-p26352) provided for…