The Washington Report

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January 11, 2023

Note to Subscribers

While we do our best to provide timely updates, it is possible that the information shared in the newsletter may change after our publication deadline.

Executive

President Biden Signs Consolidated Appropriations Act Into Law; Includes Health and Retirement Provisions
On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (H.R. 2617 – P.L. 117-328). In addition to providing funding for various government agencies for Fiscal Year 2023, the law also includes provisions that impact health and retirement.

For additional information, please see the Aon bulletin, Government Funding Bill Extends Telehealth Flexibility, Sunsets Mental Health Parity Opt-Out, found in the Publications section of the newsletter.

Readers may also register for the upcoming Aon webinar: SECURE 2.0 in Action: Improving Retirement Outcomes. Registration information is available in the Webinar section of the newsletter.

The full text of the law is available here.

Health

HHS Releases NPRM On Safeguarding the Rights of Conscience as Protected by Federal Statutes
On December 29, 2022, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), entitled Safeguarding the Rights of Conscience as Protected by Federal Statutes, which proposes “to restore the longstanding process for the handling of conscience complaints and provide additional safeguards to protect against conscience and religious discrimination.”

HHS proposes in the NPRM to partially rescind the May 21, 2019, final rule entitled, Protecting Statutory Conscience Rights in Health Care; Delegations of Authority (2019 Final Rule), while leaving in effect the framework created by the February 23, 2011, final rule, entitled, Regulation for the Enforcement of Federal Health Care Provider Conscience Protection Laws. HHS also proposes to retain, with some modifications, certain provisions of the 2019 Final Rule regarding federal conscience protections but eliminate others because they are redundant or confusing, because they “undermine the balance Congress struck between safeguarding conscience rights and protecting access to health care access, or because significant questions have been raised as to their legal authorization.” Additionally, HHS is seeking to determine what additional regulations, if any, are necessary to implement certain conscience protection laws. HHS is asking for public comment on the NPRM to retain certain provisions of the 2019 Final Rule, including on any alternative approaches for ensuring compliance with the conscience protection laws. Public comments are due by March 6, 2023.

The news release is available here.

The NPRM is available here.

Departments Issue FAQ on Reporting Prescription Drug and Health Care Spending
On December 23, 2022, the Departments of Labor, HHS, and the Treasury (Departments) issued a Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) on prescription drug and health care spending reporting, as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021.

The FAQ asks:
Q1: Will the Departments take enforcement action against any plan or issuer that makes a good faith effort to comply with the prescription drug and health care spending reporting requirements for 2020 and 2021 data?

For additional information, please refer to the Aon bulletin, Departments to Employers: We’ll Take RxDC Filings on Faith, found in the Publications section of the newsletter.

The FAQ About Affordable Care Act and Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 Implementation Part 56, is available here.

IRS Releases Notice on Calculating 2023 QPAs
On December 20, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2023-04 which provides the indexing factors to be used by group health plans and health insurance issuers to calculate the qualifying payment amount (QPA) for items or services provided on or after January 1, 2023, and before January 1, 2024. The No Surprises Act (NSA) added parallel provisions at Code Sections 9816 and 9817, ERISA Sections 716 and 717, and Public Health Service Act Sections 2799A-1 and 2799A-2. These provisions provide protections against balance-billing for certain out-of-network items or services provided to patients. The QPA is the basis for determining individual cost-sharing for items and services covered by the balance-billing protections in the NSA, under certain circumstances.

Notice 2023-04 is available here.

Other HR/Employment

Fall 2022 Regulatory Agenda Released
On January 4, 2023, the Biden Administration released its Fall 2022 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, which provides an updated report on the actions federal departments and administrative agencies (e.g., the Department of Labor, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Department of the Treasury, Department of Health and Human Services, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, etc.) plan to issue in the near and long term. The agendas include regulatory plans and priorities and provide a framework of activity expected throughout the year. (Departments and agencies may delay the release of regulations at any time, so it is important to note that projected timelines are estimates and may not be met by the date(s) indicated in the agendas.)

A variety of regulations are scheduled to be issued in the months ahead potentially impacting health care, retirement, compensation, and employment. For additional information, please refer to the specific regulatory agendas.

The link to the current Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (i.e., updated Regulatory Agendas and Plans, searchable by department and agency) is available here.

The complete Semiannual Agenda website is available here.

IRS Issues 2023 Standard Mileage Rates; Business Use Increases 3 Cents Per Mile
On December 29, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2023-03, which provides the 2023 standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical, or moving purposes. Effective January 1, 2023, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) are:

65.5 cents per mile driven for business use, up three cents from the midyear increase setting the rate for the second half of 2022.
22 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes for qualified active-duty members of the Armed Forces, consistent with the increased midyear rate set for the second half of 2022.
14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations; the rate is set by statute and remains unchanged from 2022.

The news release is available here.

IRS Notice 2023-03 is available here.

Aon Publications

Government Funding Bill Extends Telehealth Flexibility, Sunsets Mental Health Parity Opt-Out
On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (the Act). While the Act is primarily intended to fund the government through September 2023, it also includes numerous policy provisions that impact private industry.

The Aon bulletin, which discusses two health law provisions in the Act and what employers should do now, is available here.

Departments to Employers: We’ll Take RxDC Filings on Faith
Just hours before the start of a three-day federal weekend preceding a December 27, 2022, filing deadline, employers preparing to submit their first Prescription Drug Data Collection (RxDC) filings got an early holiday gift from the U.S. government.

The Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (the Departments) announced on December 23, 2022, that they will not take enforcement action against any employer-sponsored group health plan or issuer that uses a good faith reasonable interpretation of the regulations and instructions for RxDC submissions. The Departments’ guidance provides a submission grace period and allows plans and issuers to submit for 2020 and 2021 through January 31, 2023.

The Aon bulletin is available here.

Aon Webinar

SECURE 2.0 in Action: Improving Retirement Outcomes
Join Aon’s Wealth Solutions leaders and register for a special on-demand webinar as we take a closer look at SECURE 2.0, the law signed by President Biden on December 29, 2022, as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act.