
On February 23, 2023, the Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) (the "Agencies") released FAQs addressing the implementation of certain transparency requirements under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA).These joint-issued FAQs address additional compliance guidance on the CAA’s annual attestation, prohibiting group health plans from preventing specific disclosures regarding provider cost or quality-of-care information as well as a gag clause prohibition.BackgroundWhen the CAA was enacted by Congress on December 27, 2020, the law included a provision preventing group health plans and health insurance carriers from entering into health plan services contracts (such as a third-party administrator or health care provider contracts) with gag clauses that restrict or prohibit the amount of information shared with plan participants or beneficiaries, but specifically:· Any provider-specific costs· Any quality-of-care or specific treatment option information· Electronic access to de-identified health claims data,…