House Education and the Workforce Committee Holds Hearing in Honor of ERISA 50th Anniversary

On Sept. 10, the House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions held a hearing titled, “ERISA’s 50th Anniversary: The Value of Employer-Sponsored Health Benefits.” Policy experts and advocates representing large employers, small business owners, and consumers discussed potential ways to strengthen the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and employer-sponsored coverage.

In his opening remarks, Chairman Bob Good (R-VA) voiced his support for ERISA’s preemption clause, which has alleviated burdens on employers and helped workers access quality health care. The hearing highlighted partisan differences in priorities and challenges to reaching a bipartisan agreement in the near term on ERISA reforms. Members and witnesses discussed a number of topics, including the cost of health care, consolidation and competition, transparency, and ERISA preemption, but did not show much appetite to consider more than the House-passed, bipartisan Lower Costs, More Transparency Act.