Health and Welfare Plans

As health and welfare plans increase in cost and complexity, they must remain affordable and practical for employers to establish and maintain.

With that in mind, our attorneys –

  • Design and document health and welfare plans of all types, including group health plans, consumer-driven health arrangements, prescription drug reimbursement programs, disability and life insurance plans, transportation benefits, education assistance, adoption assistance, and other tax-favored health and welfare programs.
  • Review and amend existing health and welfare plans to comply with regulatory changes.
  • Support clients in the administration of plans, including handling claims for benefits, reporting and disclosure requirements.
  • Counsel clients about consumer-driven health plans, wellness programs and cafeteria plans;
  • Counsel clients about retiree medical benefit obligations.
  • Counsel clients about health plan funding, including funding through VEBAs.
  • Counsel clients about continuation coverage rules under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 (COBRA).
  • Counsel clients about benefit portability and privacy/security requirements under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
  • Counsel clients about welfare benefit obligations under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Medicare.
  • Counsel clients on compliance with the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) during and after periods of military leave.
  • Negotiate and draft service provider contracts and policies.

SS&B offers in-depth knowledge of flexible benefit programs (cafeteria plans), consumer-driven health plans and related wellness programs.

  • SS&B attorney Cheryl Risley Hughes is a contributing author to a leading reference manual, Consumer-Driven Health Plans, published by the Employee Benefits Institute of America.
  • SS&B represents national industry leaders, including leading third party administrators of cafeteria plans and a leading provider of electronic payment cards used for health savings accounts (HSAs) and health reimbursement accounts (HRAs).
  • SS&B attorneys Dan S. Brandenburg and Cheryl Risley Hughes are members of the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation (ECFC) Cafeteria Plan Technical Advisors Council.

SS&B offers in-depth knowledge of Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Associations (VEBAs) maintained by corporate employers and trade associations.

  • An SS&B client recently established and funded a stand-alone VEBA to assume retiree medical benefit obligations.
  • SS&B represents VEBAs on issues related to their tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(9) of the Tax Code.

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