DOL Withdraws Proposed Rule Defining Welfare Benefit Plan

The Department of Labor has withdrawn its proposed rule defining “welfare benefit plan” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The rule, which intended to address the impact of state health care plans on ERISA-covered welfare plans, had been proposed before the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Affordable Care Act”) was signed into law on March 23, 2010. In light of the Affordable Care Act’s enactment, the DOL intends to review “whether and to what extent further regulation in this area is necessary or appropriate in light of a national health care reform program.”

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