Juliana provides practical solutions for companies facing complex benefits-related issues under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). She has particular expertise in addressing issues in health benefits—not only major medical plans, but also health savings accounts (HSAs), health reimbursement accounts (HRAs), and flexible spending accounts (FSAs). Juliana has helped numerous clients through Department of Labor audits and has responded to many Internal Revenue Service (IRS) notices seeking ACA employer penalties. She negotiates service provider agreements and works with service providers to implement clients’ benefit needs.
Juliana's employer client base spans corporate teams, individual executives, hospitals, restaurants, technology companies, staffing agencies, nonprofits and associations, professional employer organizations (PEOs), home health agencies, and more. She also advises a number of businesses that provide services to employer plans—insurers, third-party administrators, wellness companies, and Employee Assistance Plan (EAP) administrators.
Juliana advises her clients on compliance and planning opportunities tied to ever-changing employee benefits laws. Her work includes not only health plans, but also cafeteria plans, life and disability plans, and qualified retirement plans. A recovering litigator, Juliana also advises clients regarding disputes involving benefits claims, health benefits cutbacks, breaches of fiduciary duty, and claims for benefits under ERISA and non-ERISA plans.
The universe of health and welfare plan requirements is vast, and Juliana's practice covers:
- Assisting employers through all phases of a plan's life cycle—creation, operation, amendment, correction, and termination
- Counseling employers, multi-employer plans, and service providers on legal and operational aspects of their health and welfare plans
- Addressing regulatory requirements and compliance issues with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Labor (DOL), including IRS and DOL audits at all levels
- Advising employers regarding the ACA, including how to balance premium costs and employer penalty risks, provide ACA-compliant health coverage, comply with ACA reporting obligations, and respond to IRS penalty notices
- Advising clients on the full range of federal and state laws that impact voluntary employees' beneficiary associations (VEBAs), multiple employer welfare arrangements (MEWAs) and association health plans (AHPs)
- Providing day-to-day advice on specific eligibility and benefit questions, including coverage of dependents and domestic partners, offers of COBRA continuation coverage, and change-of-status determinations
- Preparing and reviewing required documents and forms, including plan documents, summary plan descriptions (SPDs), summaries summary of benefits and coverage (SBCs), Forms 5500, and Forms 1095-C and 1094-C
- Designing HIPAA privacy compliance programs, including drafting policies and procedures, preparing and negotiating business associate agreements, and training privacy workers
- Serving as counsel in ERISA lawsuits brought against health plans by out-of-network providers
- Coordinating paid and unpaid leave of absence programs, including disability leave, family and medical leave, and parental leave
- Reviewing and drafting open enrollment packages, required notices, and benefit guides
- Counseling employers on alternative means of providing healthcare, including onsite medical clinics and private exchanges
- Working with employment counsel to ensure that benefits are properly addressed in employee handbooks, offer letters, employment agreements, and separation agreements
- Responding to questions regarding the proper tax treatment of various fringe benefit programs, including tuition reimbursement and commuter benefits