Lowe's Sued over Cancelling Health Plan Participants' Coverage

"A lawsuit was filed on behalf of all participants in Lowe's Companies' Group Medical Plan who had their health coverage terminated and were denied medical benefits by Lowe's for part or all of the 2011 calendar year." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

[Opinion] Health Care Consumers Have Uphill Battle in Pushback Against High Prices

"To an economist it is astonishing that Americans have been content for so long to allow an economic sector that has absorbed an increasing portion of their incomes -- 18 percent of their gross domestic product now and 20 percent before too long -- to operate without any meaningful price transparency." (New York Times; free registration required)

[Guidance Overview] EEOC Issues Final Rule Extending Title VII And ADA Recordkeeping Requirements to GINA

"The EEOC issued a final rule extending the existing recordkeeping requirements under Title VII and the ADA to entities covered by Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA). Effective April 3, 2012, employers with 15 or more employees must retain all personnel and employment records for at least one year, and must retain documents relevant to charges filed under GINA until their final disposition." (Practical Law Company)

Electronic Health Records Still Need Work

"America may be a technology-driven nation, but the health care system's conversion from paper to computerized records needs lots of work to get the bugs out, according to experts who spent months studying the issue." (BenefitsPro)

[Guidance Overview] Labor Department Offers Guidance on Electronic Disclosure But Not Much Relief

"The Release provides little relief to plan administrators who want to satisfy the disclosure requirements of the Regulation electronically but are stymied by the cumbersome requirements of the Safe Harbor as to Group 2 participants. Inexplicably, however, Method 2 in the Release is more difficult to implement than the consent procedures in the Safe Harbor for Group 2 participants." (McGuireWoods LLP)

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