Bulletins

Language addressing substance use disorder protections has been added to the Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP). Gravie released a template today containing the new requirements and advises employers to provide a copy to group health plan participants by the April 17 deadline.

Sponsors of self-funded health plans must update their Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP) by February 16, 2026*. Actual distribution to plan participants must be within 60 days of that date or April 17, 2026. The last mandatory NPP update was in 2013 under the HIPAA Omnibus Rule. To assist...

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (Blue KC) announced late last week plans to affiliate with Highmark, a not-for-profit health insurer and the nation’s fifth largest Blue Cross and Blue Shield plan. The arrangement is subject to a regulatory approval process, which could take six months or...

Aetna notified Bukaty Companies this past week that it expects the contract renewal with St. Luke’s and Barnes-Jewish Health Systems to be finalized in coming days.

Aetna and its third-party administrator, Meritain Health, have started to notify members by mail that unless contract negotiations are completed by the end of the year, Saint Luke’s and Barnes-Jewish Health Systems will no longer be in-network.

The IRS recently released Notice 2025-62 granting penalty relief for employers and payors required to report cash tips and overtime compensation on 2025 tax forms. The relief applies to Forms W-2 and 1099 that workers must receive by January 31, 2026. The relief only applies to the 2025 tax year.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) gag clause prohibitionrequires issuers and plan sponsors to attest that any agreements they enter with health care providers, third-party administrators or other service providers will not contain language restricting access to cost and quality-of-care...

Starting January 2026, Gravie is partnering with Express Scripts by Evernorth as the carrier’s new pharmacy benefit manager (PBM). This new partnership will create opportunities for savings and introduce new member-facing price transparency tools. The change impacts all Gravie groups and health...

Earlier this year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a revised simplified determination that can be used by most employer groups* to evaluate the creditable coverage status of their prescription drug coverage. (Note: For fully insured and most level-funded plans,...

In a move to curb the impact of high-cost drug utilization on members and plan sponsors, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City (Blue KC) is launching a new drug discount program.