Washington, D.C., May 29, 2025 – The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) today submitted several recommendations regarding health care and retirement benefits to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The letter follows an agency request for stakeholders to recommend items to be considered for the Department’s 2025-2026 Priority Guidance Plan.
Miscellaneous Archives:
ERIC Applauds Legislation to Expand Access to Accountable, High-Quality Telehealth Providers in Wisconsin
ashington, D.C., May 22, 2025 – The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) last week wrote a letter to Representative Clint P. Moses and members of the Wisconsin Assembly Committee on Health, Aging and Long-Term Care praising proposed legislation to expand and secure access to quality telehealth services for Wisconsinites.
New ERIC White Paper Challenges Cost-Shifting Assumptions, Highlights Provider Consolidation and Market Power as Key Driver of Hospital Prices
Washington, D.C., May 20, 2025 -The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) todayreleased a new white paper, “Beyond Cost Shifting: Market Power as the Key Driver of Hospital Prices” examining the validity of the cost shifting theory and evaluating the primary drivers of hospital prices in employer-sponsored health plans.
ERIC Statement on Department of Justice Action to Stay Enforcement of Mental Health Parity Act Final Rule
Washington, D.C., May 12, 2025 – Today, The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) released the following statement in response to the Department of Justice announcement that the Trump Administration will stay enforcement of the final rule issued under the Biden Administration related to requirements under the Mental Health Parity Act and Equity Addiction Act (MHPAEA) implementing the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.
ERIC Applauds OMB Effort to Cut Cumbersome, Outdated Regulations
The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) today submitted recommendations to The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in response to its “Request for Information: Deregulation.” This Request for Information (RFI) from OMB asks for submissions to identify, “regulations that stifle American businesses and American ingenuity.” A statement regarding the RFI can be found below and is attributable to ERIC President and CEO James Gelfand.
ERIC Alert: New Prescription Drug Law Could Raise Costs and Limit Access for Arkansas Workers and Families
Washington, D.C., April 29, 2025 – This month, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed into law HB 1150, a bill that prohibits any and all pharmacies owned by or affiliated with a pharmacy benefit manager (“PBM”) from receiving a permit for the retail sale of drugs or medicines in Arkansas.
ERIC Applauds Legislation Bringing Transparency and Accountability to the Employee Benefit Security Administration
Washington, D.C., April 29, 2025 – Today, The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) praised the recent introduction of two bills aimed at reforming the practices of the Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA), a subagency of the Department of Labor (DOL). Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), EBSA has significant enforcement responsibilities for workers, retirees, and their families who rely on these plans.
Employers Alarmed by Supreme Court Decision that May Trigger Frivolous Litigation Tsunami
Washington, D.C., April 18, 2025 – Today, Tom Christina, Executive Director of the ERIC Legal Center released the statement below in response to a decision issued Thursday by the U.S. Supreme Court. In Cunningham v. Cornell, the Court made it more cumbersome for courts to dismiss allegations that a benefit plan engaged in a “prohibited transaction” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
ERISA Victory: ERIC Applauds Court Ruling Upholding Employers’ Rights to Design Employee Benefit Plans
Washington, D.C., April 2, 2025 – On Monday, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee granted a motion for summary judgment in McKee Foods Corporation v. BFP, Inc. The court agreed with McKee Foods that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act preempts key provisions of Tennessee’s law requiring that employers include “any willing pharmacy” in the networks maintained by the pharmacy benefit plans employers sponsor for workers and their families.
ERIC Urges Treasury to Continue Prioritizing Simplicity in SECURE 2.0 Rulemaking
The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) recently submitted comments on two separate proposed rulemakings in connection with the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0) – one on retirement plan “catch-up contributions” and the other on the mandate for newly-established plans to automatically enroll participants.