Myth Buster: States can require all health plans to report cost and quality information.

MYTH: States can require all health plans to report cost and quality information.

 

FACT: Employer-sponsored health plans may be exempt from state reporting laws under ERISA.

 

States are more actively monitoring the cost and quality of health care in their states; in Vermont, for example, a regulation required health insurers to report health care data to a centralized state database. However, a recent federal appeals court struck down the Vermont law as it applied to many health plans, holding that the law was preempted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), which governs employee benefit plans. To learn more about the court's decision and how it impacts cost and quality reporting, read our Myth Buster below.