Client Alert: Employers Face Liability for Health Benefit Plan Management

Employers-Are you ready to be sued by your employees or unions for not complying with recent ERISA additions?

• Effective immediately, CAA-2021 law mandates Employers who sponsor a health plan to activate a proactive health plan fiduciary process by 12-31-23.
• Employers must perform specific, documented benchmarking of health plan vendors and costs, then attest to doing so each year.
• Exposure: Non-compliance penalties of $100 / EE / day – no limit, are in play for each business and exposure to participant legal actions. C-suite executives and Board of Directors are exposed to significant liability for inaction.
• Schlichter, Bogard, one of the nations’ leading ERISA plaintiff law firms, is posting on its LinkedIn account this message: “Are you a current employee who has participated in your firm’s employee health plan? If so, we would like to speak with you.” Schlichter is targeting Kohl’s, T Mobile. Walgreens, PetSmart, Target, and several other large companies.
• Employers who comply with these legal mandates pay less for healthcare and protect their C-Suites and Boards of Directors from legal liability.

For more information, please see attached article prepared by HMBR with a more expansive analysis of this matter as well as a companion article on Pharmacy Benefit Managers related to CAA compliance, as pharmacy spending by a Plan is also a target of these changes in ERISA.  If you have questions, e-mail John P. Marren at jpm@hmbr.com or call 312-946-1800.