Congress enacted the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) in 1974 primarily to address the management of employer pension plans, but it also applies to employer benefits like health insurance. ERISA's provisions sometimes preempt state laws and complicate state efforts to make health care coverage more broadly available. For example, under ERISA, states are prohibited from directly requiring employers to provide health insurance coverage for their workers.
NASHP's ERISA work hopes to shed light on the possibilities and limitations of state health reform as ERISA legal doctrine evolves. It includes a number of issue briefs and papers, as well as webinars.
