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  • New Year, New Guidance

    New Year, New Guidance
    Jan 15 2026
    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.
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    27 Min.
  • The Cost of Drugs

    The Cost of Drugs
    Nov 18 2025
    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.
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    14 Min.
  • We're back!

    We're back!
    Oct 15 2025
    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?”
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    15 Min.
  • One Big, Beautiful…Law?

    One Big, Beautiful…Law?
    Jul 31 2025
    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).
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    27 Min.
  • The End of an Era at the Bar

    The End of an Era at the Bar
    Jun 24 2025
    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!
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    18 Min.
  • One Big, Beautiful Podcast (and Two Executive Orders)

    One Big, Beautiful Podcast (and Two Executive Orders)
    May 27 2025
    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.
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    16 Min.
  • Standing Room Only at the Bar

    Standing Room Only at the Bar
    Apr 23 2025
    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.
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    16 Min.
  • Smokers and Surcharges

    Smokers and Surcharges
    Mar 21 2025
    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!
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    15 Min.