In February, ERIC and our allies on the ground spoke out in strong opposition to SB 1 during a Senate Finance Committee public hearing. As a refresher, the bill attempts to coerce self-funded plans to submit their health insurance claims data to Georgia’s All Payer Claims Database (APCD), by threatening to penalize employers with the loss of a host of state tax credits and benefits, starting January 2022.
To help in our advocacy efforts at the state level, ERIC commissioned expert legal analysis from Morgan, Lewis and Bockius LLP, which reviews relevant legal precedent, and concluded that the proposed Georgia APCD legislation would likely be preempted by ERISA.
We believe the unified response from Georgia’s business community, and the strong legal opinion, stopped the bill from advancing out of Committee. Since its hearing date back in February, the bill has not moved, and the Georgia legislature is now in recess until January 10, 2022. This is a great victory for ERIC member companies and our employees in Georgia, as SB 1 would have eroded ERISA, raised costs for employers, and no doubt spawned a bevy of copycat legislation in other states. ERIC has also told states seeking to expand their APCDs that they should wait for the coming “common reporting framework” being developed at the federal level, before even considering moving forward.
