During her 20 years of practice in employee benefits, Karen Martinez has focused on advising clients on various aspects of the design, implementation and compliance issues relating to health and welfare benefits. Ms. Martinez has advised clients of all sizes with respect to COBRA, HIPAA, FMLA, tax and ERISA issues with respect to group health plans, severance plans, cafeteria plans and VEBAs. She also has significant experience with qualified plans and benefit issues related to mergers and acquisitions. She is AV® rated by Martindale-Hubbell.
Experience
Health and welfare counseling for a natural gas distributor, Counsel a natural gas distributor on compliance issues relating to health and welfare plans, employee communications and reporting requirements.
Severance plans and leave of absence policy advice, Advise many employers with respect to severance plans and leave of absence policies.
Health and welfare plans and 401(k) plan compliance advice for a distributor of industrial control products and programmable logic controllers, Advise a direct seller of automation and industrial control products in connection with federal laws impacting health and welfare plans and with 401(k) plan compliance.
Compliance and design issue counsel for a life sciences and materials sciences company, Counsel a life sciences and materials sciences company in compliance and design issues relating to medical and other welfare benefits for active employees and retirees; HIPAA privacy compliance; COBRA, FMLA and cafeteria plan rules; and administrative service agreements.
HIPAA privacy and security issues, Counsel to several employers relating to HIPAA privacy and security issues.
Implementation and compliance issues for health plans, Counsel to large employers with respect to all aspects of implementation and compliance issues for health plans, including HSAs and HRAs.
Advice on laws impacting health and welfare plans for a leading cancer health organization, Counsel a leading cancer health organization on federal laws impacting group health and welfare plans.
*Experience gained by attorney prior to joining Kilpatrick Townsend
Publications
18 April 2012, Mandatory Fees on Health Plan Insurers and Plan Sponsors to Fund Research, Legal Alerts
23 February 2012, Future guidance outlined for automatic enrollment, employer responsibilities and waiting periods, Legal Alerts
20 February 2012, Final Summary of Benefits and Coverage Rules - A Rocky Compliance Road for Employer Plans, Legal Alerts
10 January 2012, New Guidance Issued for Reporting the Cost of Health Coverage on Forms W-2, Legal Alerts
23 December 2011, 2012 Benefit Limits, Legal Alerts
10 May 2011, 2012 Health and Welfare Planning: Health Reform - One Year Later, Podcasts
05 April 2011, Reporting the Cost of Health Coverage on Forms W-2, Legal Alerts
01 January 2011, Nondiscrimination Rules Delayed For Insured Health Plans, Legal Alerts
22 December 2010, 2011 Benefit Limits, Legal Alerts
07 September 2010, Reimbursing OTC Drugs and Applying for Mini-Med Waivers, Legal Alerts
27 August 2010, The Next Generation of Appeals Procedures - New Federal External Review Process and Model Notices, Legal Alerts
27 July 2010, Internal Appeals and External Review Processes under the Affordable Care Act, Legal Alerts
19 July 2010, Preventive Care Rules under the Affordable Care Act, Legal Alerts
24 June 2010, Affordable Care Act Patient Bill of Rights Guidance Application to Non-Grandfathered and Grandfathered Plans, Legal Alerts
16 June 2010, Will Grandfathered Health Plans Become An Endangered Species?, Legal Alerts
18 May 2010, Health Care Reform, Emerging Issues
17 May 2010, Health Care Reform - Availability Of Coverage For Adult Children, Legal Alerts
11 May 2010, Early Retiree Reinsurance Program - HHS Releases Interim Final Regulations, Legal Alerts
29 April 2010, 2011 Health And Welfare Planning: Employer Compliance With Health Care Reform And Other Key Developments, Podcasts
30 March 2010, Health Care Reform - Impact On Employers And Employer-Sponsored Health Plans, Legal Alerts
05 March 2010, Number Two and Counting - Congress Extends and Expands the Cobra Subsidy Program, Legal Alerts
23 December 2009, What You Always Wanted for the Holidays - A COBRA Subsidy Extension, Legal Alerts
13 October 2009, HHS GINA Proposed Regulations - HIPAA Covered Entities Impacted, Legal Alerts
13 October 2009, GINA Interim Final Regulations - Wellness and Disease Management Programs Impacted, Legal Alerts
18 August 2009, The FTC Red Flags Rule - Impact on Employee Benefit Programs, Legal Alerts
28 April 2009, 2010 Health & Welfare Planning Teleconference: What Should Employers Be Doing Now?, Podcasts
27 May 2008, 2009 Health & Welfare Planning Teleconference: What Should Employers Be Doing Now?, Podcasts
23 February 2007, IRS Issues HSA and HRA Rollover Guidance - Transition Relief through March 15, 2007, Legal Alerts
27 December 2006, Congress Enhances Health Savings Accounts, Legal Alerts
24 May 2006, Supreme Court Eases Enforcement of Health Plan Subrogation Provisions, Legal Alerts
Health Welfare Law, Blogs
Events
29 April 2010, 2011 Health And Welfare Planning: Employer Compliance With Health Care Reform And Other Key Developments, Events
28 April 2009, 2010 Health and Welfare Planning, Events
26 September 2008, Employee Benefits 101, Events
25 September 2008, Workplace Privacy Issues, Events
14 May 2008, 2009 Health and Welfare Planning: What Should Employers Be Doing Now?, Events