The ERISA Working Group, a division of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), is considering establishing a drafting group to address the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) preemption of state pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) laws. The NAIC has called for interested insurance regulators to contact them. If the NAIC follows through with its intentions, state insurance regulators could Read More

After conducting an American workplace survey on fiduciary requirements in employee benefits plans, researchers at Duke University are warning that U.S. employers with such plans are vulnerable to lawsuits. According to the survey results, many employers fail to meet even basic guidelines for performing fiduciary duties. As the researchers explain, this omission can easily result in costly lawsuits.  The Employee Read More

President Donald Trump recently issued an executive order (EO) to facilitate retirement plans’ investments in a wider range of assets, including cryptocurrency and private equity. The purpose of the EO is to allow the more than 90 million Americans with defined-contribution retirement plans to access the same range of assets as public and government pension plan workers. Removal and modification of existing Read More

In Perrone v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mich., 2025 WL 2027540 (W.D. Mich. 2025), a group health plan participant sued Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) when it denied his claim for a stay at an out-of-network mental health treatment facility. The participant alleged that he had received confirmation by phone that his stay would be covered. In his suit, he sought recovery of benefits under the Employee Retirement Income Read More

A California federal district court judge has entered judgment in part in favor of both a class of patients and United Behavioral Health (UBH) in a fight over coverage for mental health and substance abuse disorder treatments. The court found that UBH’s overly restrictive coverage guidelines breached fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).  The case is Wit et al. v. Read More

Employee benefits are one of the most expensive expenditures for employers, and the rate of pharmacy benefit spending is rapidly increasing. However, employers and workers can take steps to save money, which is even more crucial with tariffs currently causing widespread uncertainty.  Digital Advances Facilitate Choice  The traditional pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) model limits consumer knowledge about Read More

The Republican tax and policy bill that President Donald Trump has now signed into law contains various provisions that affect attorneys who handle employee benefits and executive compensation. The major takeaways from the bill are as follows: No Changes to Existing Retirement and Health Tax Provisions The most recent budget reconciliation bill made no changes to existing individual and business tax provisions Read More

A bipartisan group of lawmakers, including five medical doctors, has introduced a bipartisan bill in the House to enforce provisions of the No Surprises Act. The bill could increase the maximum penalties for employer health plans for delayed payments from a No Surprises Act claim to $10,000. The current penalty is $100. Furthermore, the bill would require federal officials to annually report their work to ensure Read More

The House Education and the Workforce Committee’s Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions subcommittee was critical of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) divulging certain information to plaintiffs’ attorneys during a recent oversight meeting. EBSA reportedly shared information concerning enforcement investigations with attorneys representing benefits plan Read More

Congress has passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB)” and President Donald Trump has signed it into law. The OBBB contains multiple changes to employee benefits law, including in the areas of HSAs, dependent care FSAs, student loan repayment assistance, and “Trump accounts.”  OBBB HSA Expansion Although the changes to health savings accounts (HSAs) are not as extensive as in the original House bill, the Read More