Division III · Health and Welfare
Part 13. COBRA, HIPAA, and Welfare Benefits
This Part covers COBRA, Arizona mini-COBRA, HIPAA, BAAs, §125, FSAs, HSAs, HRAs (including ICHRA, QSEHRA, and excepted-benefit HRA design and administration), DCAPs, welfare Form 5500, MEWAs, and welfare compliance. It also covers retiree medical and Medicare coordination — retiree health vesting after Tackett and Reese, VEBAs and §401(h) accounts (and §420 transfers), Medicare Secondary Payer, Medicare Part D creditable-coverage disclosure, the HSA/Medicare enrollment traps, and the retiree-only plan and ADEA Medicare-coordination interactions.
Chapters
Chapter 1. COBRA Continuation Coverage
Verify deadlines, indexed premium/penalty figures, and current model notices before relying on them.
Law stated as of October 3, 2026
Chapter 2. Code Section 125 Cafeteria Plans
Indexed limits change annually and the core regulatory framework is proposed, not final — verify before relying on them.
Law stated as of October 3, 2026
Chapter 3. HIPAA Compliance for Group Health Plans
This chapter states the durable HIPAA framework as it applies to employer-sponsored group health plans, noting current regulatory status where rules have recently changed or are in flux.
Law stated as of October 3, 2026
Chapter 4. Dependent Care Assistance Programs: §129 and §125
This chapter states the durable Code §129 and §125 framework governing dependent care assistance programs.
Law stated as of October 3, 2026
Chapter 5. Which Health Reforms Apply to Self-Insured Group Health Plans
This chapter maps the federal health-reform requirements that apply to self-insured (self-funded) group health plans, distinguishing them from the insured-market rules that do not, and incorporating the post-2021 CAA and transparency layers.
Law stated as of October 3, 2026
Chapter 6. Retiree Medical and Medicare Coordination
This chapter covers employer-sponsored retiree health: whether the benefit is vested after Tackett and Reese, the funding vehicles (pay-as-you-go, VEBAs, §401(h) accounts, and §420 transfers), Medicare Secondary Payer coordination, Part D creditable coverage disclosure, the HSA/Medicare enrollment traps, and the retiree-only plan, COBRA, and ADEA interactions.
Law stated as of October 3, 2026
Chapter 7. Health Reimbursement Arrangements: HRAs, ICHRAs, QSEHRAs, and Excepted-Benefit HRAs
This chapter covers the account-based reimbursement arrangements: the HRA as a tax vehicle (Code §§105 and 106), the ACA market-reform integration problem that every HRA must solve, the four regulatory and statutory solutions (integration with group coverage, the individual coverage HRA (ICHRA), the excepted-benefit HRA (EBHRA), and the statutory QSEHRA), the retiree-only and post-employment variants, and the ERISA, COBRA, §105(h), and HSA overlays.
Law stated as of October 3, 2026
Chapter 8. MEWAs, Form M-1, and the Welfare-Plan Form 5500
This chapter covers multiple employer welfare arrangements (MEWAs): whether an arrangement is a MEWA under ERISA §3(40), whether it is a single ERISA plan (a "plan MEWA") or a collection of separate plans (a "non-plan MEWA"), the bona fide group or association test and the fate of the 2018 association health plan rule, State insurance regulation under ERISA §514(b)(6), DOL's MEWA enforcement tools, the Form M-1 registration and annual filing, and the welfare-plan Form 5500 (who files, the small-plan exemptions, the schedules, and the MEWA-specific rules).
Law stated as of October 3, 2026
Also in this Part
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