Susan Relland practices in the area of employee benefits with a focus on health and welfare plan advisory and policy services. She assists employers and health plans with the tax, legal and planning issues related to implementing and administering domestic and international benefit plans. She has experience with all types of benefit programs and has particular expertise in designing consumer-driven health plans, such as Health Reimbursement Arrangement and Health Savings Account (HSA) programs, and retiree health plans, such as those that coordinate with Medicare or qualify for the retiree drug subsidy available to employers.
A primary aspect of her work is advising clients regarding changes in employee benefits law. She helps mitigate risk by assessing and designing programs for compliance with federal laws, such as Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) portability, nondiscrimination, and privacy, Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Mental Health Parity Act, and other provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and Employee Retirement Security Act (ERISA) affecting employer-sponsored benefit plans. She also helps employers reduce health plan costs by assisting in the design and implementation of strategies that advance the company’s business objectives. In addition to her advisory practice, Ms. Relland provides strategic advice and representation to clients before Congress, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. She has extensive experience in educating Congressional and agency staff about typical health plan design and operation. In addition, she works with and provides clients guidance on issues coming out of the House Committees on Education and Labor and Ways and Means, as well as the Senate Committees on Finance and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Ms. Relland also has coalition management experience, including founding and directing the HSA Working Group coalition.
Prior to joining Miller & Chevalier, Ms. Relland was with Ernst & Young’s human capital practice and served as the Health Policy Legal Counsel for the American Benefits Council, a Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing employers that either sponsor directly or administer health and retirement plans covering more than 100 million Americans.
Ms. Relland does extensive public speaking on topics such as pending legislation affecting health and welfare plans, outlook on the Congressional agenda, recently issued regulations or agency guidance, health policy matters, consumer-driven health plan trends, and retiree health plan strategies.
Education
Tulane University Law School, J.D.; cum laude
University of North Texas, B.M.; magna cum laude
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