Overview

Register for this 60-minute webinar to learn about the employee benefits provisions in the tax and budget reconciliation law (aka the One Big Beautiful Bill Act), recent Supreme Court rulings and other judicial developments impacting employee benefits, as well as additional health and retirement-related legislative and regulatory updates for 2025.

Republicans may have achieved their goal of passing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (which includes numerous health and welfare benefits provisions), but they are already looking forward to additional party-line budget bills that could introduce further benefits policy changes. In the meantime, several bipartisan proposals aimed at reforming pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) business practices, improving healthcare price transparency, and expanding investment options for 403(b) plans are pending further action.

On the healthcare front, the US Supreme Court has issued several rulings that affect healthcare coverage. The policy initiatives of the Trump administration are now playing out in judicial and regulatory actions. Currently, we are in a non-enforcement period for most aspects of the contested 2024 final mental health parity rules. Additionally, a HIPAA privacy regulation related to reproductive healthcare and a regulation mandating a consumer notice for group fixed-indemnity plans have been rescinded. Ongoing litigation covers a range of topics, including ACA exchange rules and out-of-pocket maximums, behavioral health, transparency, and tracking technology.

On the retirement front, the Department of Labor has retracted its previous warning to employers considering the inclusion of cryptocurrency in their defined contribution plan investment options and also has encouraged employers to seek advisory opinions regarding ERISA's application to specific circumstances. A new bill in Congress aims to provide defined benefit plan sponsors with greater flexibility to repurpose surplus assets without having to terminate their plans. Additionally, employers will have a new opportunity to assist parents in saving for their children by making tax-preferred contributions to Trump accounts established under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Experts from Mercer’s Law & Policy Group will discuss these and other issues during this live 60-minute webinar.

Speakers