Happy New Year from the Bar! Usually, we’re pouring your favorite beverage, but now we’re also poring over new guidance around provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill related to telehealth in high-deductible health plans, direct primary care arrangements, and onsite clinics. We also have an update on some fiduciary litigation. And in Last Call, Ed channels his inner Frodo and salutes the 25th anniversary of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The Bar on Healthcare –The Cost of Drugs

Welcome back to the Bar! This month, Kerri and Ed discuss the administration’s latest efforts to lower prescription drug price, including transparency efforts, “most favored nation” pricing, and direct-to-consumer programs. Also, a new GLP-1 program might affect employer group health plans, but how? And in Last Call, Kerri salutes the winners of the first true World Series in three decades.

Welcome back to the Bar! Summer Break is over, and there’s a lot to discuss. But first, welcome back to one of the original proprietors of the Bar, Kerri Willis, who joins Ed Doherty to discuss the Independent Dispute Resolution process that was created as part of the No Surprises Act. The process has created some surprising outcomes that may be interesting to those who run employer group health plans. And in Last Call, Ed asks “What’s your sign…no, what’s your sign really?”

It’s summertime at the Bar! Ed is joined this month by co-host Abbey Hendricks to discuss all the particulars of the Reconciliation bill and its effect on employee benefits, including changes to Medicaid, Health Savings Accounts, paid family and medical leave, student loans and more. Then at Last Call, Ed celebrates a very special 60th birthday (or two).

Welcome back to the Bar! This month, Ed and JD continue to discuss the budget reconciliation bill, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The guys look into their crystal ball to see what they think might be in or out as the final bill begins to take shape. And in Last Call, JD bids us all a fond farewell as he rides off into the sunset. From all of us at the Bar, we say “Don’t cry because it’s over…laugh because we stuck someone else with the bar tab.” Good luck, JD, we’ll miss you!

Welcome back to the Bar! This month, JD and Ed break down the flurry of activity coming from Washington DC on both the legislative and executive front. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” has provisions that employer group health plans will find interesting, and two executive orders pertaining to prescription medication pricing have been issued. And in Last Call, JD remembers everyone’s favorite bar patron, accountant and one-liner machine George Wendt.

Welcome back to The Bar, under (partial) new management! In this month’s episode, we welcome our new co-host, Ed Doherty, who is mixing up a happy hour’s worth of employer group health plan analysis. JD and Ed discuss the basics of two court cases, Lewandowski v Johnson and Johnson and Stern v JP Morgan Chase and Co. that have to do with a group health plans and their fiduciary duty to their members. Ed breaks down why one case was tossed out and the other remains. And in Last Call, JD challenges a rule that many of us have followed for a long time.

It’s nearly Spring at the Bar! The Bar is a smoke-free environment, but JD and Kerri are keeping an eye on a lawsuit involving tobacco surcharges that employer group health plans charge, and the rules they have to follow. Then we have an update on some of the new regulations coming from the Trump administration about open enrollment on the ACA exchanges. And in a Last Call we never wanted to hear, JD bids a fond farewell to Kerri. Best of luck Kerri, come back and visit The Bar any time!

Welcome back to the Bar! It’s cold outside, so we’re keeping warm by staying up to date on the latest from the courts and the White House. Kerri and JD discuss the outcome of Lewandowski v. Johnson and Johnson et al., a case about pharmacy benefit managers and ERISA. They also discuss the newest executive order from the White House, this one on IVF. And in Last Call, well, let’s just say JD had an egg-cellent idea.

Happy New Year from the Bar! Just before the holidays, Congress was poised to pass a government funding bill that had some long ranging effects on employer group health plans. That bill didn’t make it, but the one that passed still had some tangible effects. JD and Kerri discuss the effects of what Congress did, and what they didn’t do. Also, some updates on cases making their way through the courts to keep an eye on in 2025. And in Last Call, a delayed tribute to all those that help us bring this podcast to life. Cheers!