What’s Old Is New Again: HHS Proposes to Reinstate and Expand Transgender Nondiscrimination Rules

Matthew P. Chiarello • September 2, 2022

Since it was enacted in 2010, Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (“Section 1557”) has prohibited discrimination in covered health programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex.  As we have previously reported , the application of Section 1557 has proven controversial with several competing regulations and numerous ongoing legal challenges.

Notably, the Obama Administration construed Section 1557 to apply to gender identity and sexual orientation.  In 2020, the Trump Administration issued final rules reinterpreting Section 1557 and repealing certain protections with respect to transgender health issues. 

Last year, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced that it would enforce Section 1557 with respect to gender identity and sexual orientation and that it would issue corresponding regulations.  On August 4, 2022, HHS published the anticipated Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) in the Federal Register.  According to HHS, the NPRM is intended to restore certain Obama-era protections under Section 1557 and to align the regulations with the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on sex discrimination in Bostock v. Clayton County.  A summary of the NPRM can be found here.

Comments on the NPRM can be submitted via regulations.gov.  The existing regulations under Section 1557 remain in effect until final regulations are issued, if at all.

Employee burnout: what it is and how to prevent it

By Mardy Gould • May 24, 2024
Employee burnout has become an epidemic in today’s modern workplace. So much so that the World Health Organization (WHO) officially recognizes it as an “occupational phenomenon.”1 While many used to consider mounting workplace stress an individual employee problem, these days, it’s become an employer’s responsibility to prevent burnout before it hurts productivity and business performance—not to mention your employees’ physical and mental health. Luckily, you can prevent burnout from affecting your workforce in several ways. This article will explore the causes and signs of employee burnout and the steps you can take to create a positive work environment where employees feel safe from toxic stress levels.

Form 720 and PCORI fee FAQs

By Mardy Gould • May 23, 2024
If you're a small business owner, you may have heard of the acronym PCORI and the fees that come with it. But what is PCORI, and how does it apply to your organization? Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), sponsors of self-insured health plans must pay a fee to fund the federal Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). PCORI is an independent organization the ACA created to conduct research to help healthcare consumers make better decisions for their specific needs and outcomes. It also performs research related to clinical effectiveness. Employers offering a self-insured medical reimbursement health plan, such as a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA), must pay this fee by July 31 each year via Form 7201. This fee was initially set to expire in 2019, but Congress extended it through September 30, 20292, due to the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 20203.
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