Gender-Affirming Care and Group Health Plans: Insured vs. Self-Funded Plans, Applicable Federal Laws, State Law Issues

Mr. Bianchi is the Practice Group Leader of the firm’s Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Practice. He advises corporate, not-for-profit, governmental, and individual clients on a broad range of executive compensation and employee benefits issues, including qualified and non-qualified retirement plans, stock and stock-based compensation arrangements, ERISA fiduciary and prohibited transaction issues, benefit-related aspects of mergers and acquisitions, and health and welfare plans. Mr. Bianchi is nationally renowned for his advice on the Affordable Care Act's impact on employers. He represented the Romney administration in connection with the historic 2006 Massachusetts health care reform act. Mr. Bianchi has testified before the Senate Finance Committee on the subject of health care reform. His many published works include the Bloomberg/Bureau of National Affairs Health Care Reform Advisor, a comprehensive work on the impact of the Affordable Care Act on employers and employer-sponsored group health plans. Mr. Bianchi is also the current chair of the Bloomberg Tax Compensation Planning Journal Advisory Board. 

Ms. Raaii focuses her practice on employee benefits and matters related to health care reform, data privacy and HIPAA compliance, executive compensation, and health and welfare, cafeteria, 401(k), 403(b) and pension plans. She has experience counseling clients on regulatory compliance with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), Internal Revenue Code and related state and federal laws affecting employee benefit plans. Ms. Raaii assists clients with drafting employee benefit plan documents and amendments and represents clients before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), US Department of Labor (DOL) and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation with respect to plan qualification issues. She also advises clients on employee benefits diligence, design, implementation and transition matters arising from corporate and private equity mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining McDermott, Ms. Raaii worked for the National Economic Council at the White House, where she implemented the Affordable Care Act and developed the DOL fiduciary rule with leaders from the Executive Office of the President, the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of the Treasury. She previously worked with in-house attorneys and federal and state government relations professionals in the Leadership Development Program of a Fortune 500 global insurance and financial services corporation.

Mr. Kenkel focuses his practice on employee benefits and executive compensation matters. He has experience assisting clients with regulatory compliance matters related to tax-qualified retirement plans and executive compensation arrangements. Mr. Kenkel also regularly works with clients on benefits and compensation issues in connection with corporate transactions.