Viv Hunter Turner serves as co-chair of Groom’s nationally recognized Plan Sponsor group that specializes in employee benefits and executive compensation. Viv has nearly 20 years of experience advising employers, health insurance issuers and third party administrators on compliance with the full range of laws impacting health and welfare benefit plans, including tax, COBRA, ERISA and the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. Viv has defended hundreds of matters challenging the administration of health plan benefits, the calculation of “out of network” provider payments, and compliance with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act and the No Surprises Act.
Viv has represented Fortune 500 sports and entertainment clients in tax, ERISA, ACA and COBRA compliance issues for employee benefit plans as a result of corporate restructuring and spin-off transactions. Viv has successfully defended allegations of noncompliance with ERISA’s fiduciary and prohibited transaction rules, Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, and the Affordable Care Act in Department of Labor investigations for some of the largest employer-sponsored welfare plans in the country.
An experienced negotiator, Viv has represented health plans with billions of dollars of annual spend in the procurement and contracting of pharmacy benefit management agreements (PBM) for commercial and Medicare Part D- Employer Group Waiver Plans with the nation’s leading PBMs on behalf of employer plan sponsors. In addition, Viv has negotiated hundreds of third party administrative service agreements, direct provider contracts, and disability leave administrative agreements with nearly every administrator in the country.
More generally, Viv advises employer-sponsored welfare plans on employee benefit compliance issues under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), ERISA, and COBRA.
Prior to joining Groom, Viv served as assistant general counsel and privacy officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont.
