Medical Expense✓ Verified · outline & fact-checked · Sep 2026Difficulty 2/5
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) primarily affects group health insurance by:
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why A is correct
ERISA is a federal law that sets minimum standards for employer-sponsored benefit plans and preempts state laws that 'relate to' such plans. However, ERISA does not require employers to offer coverage, and it preserves state regulation of the business of insurance through the savings clause — insurers are still state-licensed. The exam tests ERISA as a key legislative influence on group coverage.
Why the other options are wrong
- B) ERISA has no employer mandate; it regulates plans that exist but does not require coverage to be offered.
- C) Premium rates are set by insurers through state-regulated rate filings and market competition, not by ERISA.
- D) Producer licensing is a state function; ERISA preempts state benefit-plan rules but does not displace state insurance licensing.
Memory hook
ERISA = the federal referee for benefit plans: state rules bow out, but state insurance regulation stays in the game.