Good Faith Compliance Standard Announced for Broker Compensation Disclosure Requirements
This post was originally published by NAHU.
Since the passage of the CAA, NAHU has been advocating for guidance from the DOL regarding the broker compensation transparency requirements included in the bill. Late last week, the DOL released a bulletin including a temporary enforcement policy, an emphasis on good faith compliance and several other items NAHU specifically requested clarification on.
The DOL recognized NAHU’s concerns that compensation, especially indirect compensation, for agents, brokers and consultants can be earned in many forms and as a result there are a variety of ways in which this can be disclosed while still being in compliance with the law.
The DOL also clarified that the implementation date of December 27, 2021, reflects the date by which a contract was entered into regardless of whether the plan year begins after that date. NAHU specifically asked for clarification on this to confirm that any agreements signed prior to December 27, 2021 would not fall under the requirements for disclosure even if the plan year begins on January 1, 2022.
Other items in the bulletin include guidance on excepted benefits and the definitions of “covered plan” and “covered service providers.” The bulletin also states that the DOL is not expecting to release any formal rulemaking or further guidance beyond what is included in the bulletin.
The full bulletin can be found here along with a press release from the DOL. NAHU’s Compliance Now Blog also features a special news bulletin on this guidance and we will be providing more information about this guidance in Friday’s Washington Update and on NAHU’s Healthcare Happy Hour podcast.
NAHU’s full library of broker compensation disclosure resources is available here.
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