Washington, D.C., January 3, 2025 – The ERISA Industry Committee (“ERIC”) yesterday submitted public comments on proposed regulations contained in “COMAR 10.25.07, Certification of Electronic Health Networks and Medical Care Electronic Claims Clearinghouses” (“Proposed Rules”) issued by the Maryland Health Care Commission (“Commission”). The Proposed Rules seek to implement changes to Maryland’s All Payer Claims Database (“APCD”) reporting requirements.
In its public comments ERIC indicated that the Proposed Rules and underlying law overstep state authority to collect claims data from self-insured employer health care plans governed by the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). Rather than collecting this data directly from self-insured employer health benefit plans, which is prohibited by federal law, the Proposed Rules seek to collect the same protected claims data from the Electronic Health Networks (“EHNs”) that provide technical support to these plans.
“Under ERISA, ERIC’s member companies are able to design and deliver uniform coverage at reduced rates, ensuring greater affordability for their workforces. Unfortunately, a series of state laws and regulations, including Maryland’s Proposed Rules, attempt to sidestep ERISA, which threatens to erode the overall integrity and protections of the law,” said Dillon Clair, Director of State Advocacy. “To avoid potential litigation, ERIC urges the Department to amend the Proposed Rules to explicitly exclude claims data reporting requirements related to ERISA self-insured health benefit plans.”
Under Gobeille v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 577 U.S. 312 (2016), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a state may not require an ERISA plan to participate in a state APCD. Congress further confirmed this in December 2020, when it passed legislation that directed the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to build a standardized reporting format that enables voluntary participation in state APCDs by ERISA plans. ERIC advocates for states to access claims data through a federal clearinghouse, ensuring ERISA plans report only to the DOL and not to an array of individual state authorities.
ERIC is a national advocacy organization exclusively representing the largest employers in the United States in their capacity as sponsors of employee benefit plans for their nationwide workforces. With member companies that are leaders in every economic sector, ERIC is the voice of large employer plan sponsors on federal, state, and local public policies impacting their ability to sponsor benefit plans. ERIC member companies offer benefits to tens of millions of employees and their families, located in every state and city across the country.
The full text of ERIC’s comments can be found here.
