Erica Stocker
Subscribe to Erica Stocker's PostsErica Stocker is a skilled policy and advocacy professional who has more than 20 years of experience in Washington, DC — including nearly 10 years working on Capitol Hill in health policy and office leadership roles, and more than a decade as a government relations professional and registered lobbyist. Read Erica Stocker's full bio.
HHS, Labor, and Treasury Finalize Mental Health Parity Rule
By Katie Waldo, Rachel Stauffer, Erica Stocker, Jeffrey Davis, Leigh Feldman, Julia Grabo and Maddie News on Sep 26, 2024
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans, Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act
On September 9, 2024, the US Departments of Health and Human Services , Labor, and the Treasury finalized a rule related to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. This rule introduces significant updates to mental health and substance use disorder benefits, ensuring parity with medical and surgical benefits. Key changes include enhanced protections...
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White House Launches ‘Time Is Money’ Initiative
By Debra Curtis, Kristen O'Brien, Julia Grabo and Erica Stocker on Sep 17, 2024
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
On August 12, 2024, the Biden administration launched a new “Time Is Money” initiative, seeking to crack down on time-consuming and burdensome business processes. The initiative includes a requirement for federal employee health plans to provide an online opportunity to submit claims. It also features an accompanying letter to health insurance CEOs from the heads...
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McDermott+ Check-Up: July 2024
By Debra Curtis, Kristen O'Brien, Julia Grabo, Priya Rathakrishnan and Erica Stocker on Jul 31, 2024
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
The McDermott+ Check-Up features updates on healthcare legislative and regulatory activities that could impact health insurers, group health plan sponsors, healthcare providers and others in the health benefits industry. This post covers a recent Federal Trade Commission report on anticompetitive behaviors by pharmacy benefit managers as well as recent Senate hearings on medical debt and...
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Exploring the Virtual Care Policy Landscape One Year Post-PHE
By Rachel Stauffer, Leigh Feldman, Julia Grabo, Rachel Hollander and Erica Stocker on Jun 13, 2024
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
May 11, 2024, marked one year since the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), and not much has changed in Medicare telehealth policy. We are still operating under temporary waivers and flexibilities and, as a result, many pandemic-era virtual care policies are facing a cliff on December 31, 2024. This looms large during...
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Pharmacy Benefit Manager Reform: What’s on the Horizon? (December 2023 Update)
By Leigh Feldman, Amy Kelbick, Rachel Stauffer, Erica Stocker and Katie Waldo on Dec 27, 2023
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
The price of prescription drugs has brought scrutiny to the entire drug supply chain. Congress and other policymakers continue to seek opportunities to lower costs for patients and the federal government. Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are a key stakeholder in the drug supply chain, functioning as intermediaries between insurance providers and pharmaceutical manufacturers. Congress and...
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Pharmacy Benefit Manager Reform: What’s on the Horizon?
By Rachel Stauffer, Katie Waldo, Amy Kelbick, Leigh Feldman and Erica Stocker on Oct 17, 2023
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
The price of prescription drugs has brought scrutiny to the entire drug supply chain. Congress and other policymakers continue to seek opportunities to lower costs for patients and the federal government. Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are a key stakeholder in the drug supply chain, functioning as intermediaries between insurance providers and pharmaceutical manufacturers. PBMs administer...
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Texas District Court Overturns Portions of the IDR Process
By Debra Curtis, Kristen O'Brien, Priya Rathakrishnan and Erica Stocker on Sep 14, 2023
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
On August 3, 2023, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas ruled on the implementation of the No Surprises Act in Texas Medical Association, et al. v. US Department of Health and Human Services, et al. (TMA IV). In TMA IV, the plaintiffs challenged two things: The increased administrative fee to participate...
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Congress Advances Four Bipartisan Healthcare Bills
By Debra Curtis, Kristen O'Brien, Priya Rathakrishnan and Erica Stocker on Jul 24, 2023
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
The US House and Senate returned from recess, beginning a three-week sprint toward the August break. The bipartisan healthcare legislation on pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and healthcare transparency is moving through both the House and Senate. The House Education and the Workforce Committee held a markup of a bipartisan healthcare package of four bills. The...
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District Court Vacates Provisions of No Surprises Act Final Rule
By Debra Curtis, Kristen O'Brien and Erica Stocker on Mar 10, 2023
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
On February 6, a US district court in Texas vacated provisions of the No Surprises Act final rule related to the independent dispute resolution (IDR) process for determining payment for out-of-network services. The district court granted summary judgment to the Texas Medical Association, which had brought suit against the US Departments of Health and Human...
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HHS Announces Record Number of ACA Marketplace Enrollments
By Debra Curtis, Kristen O'Brien and Erica Stocker on Feb 23, 2023
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
On January 25, 2023, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that more than 16.3 million people nationwide selected an ACA Marketplace health plan during the 2023 open enrollment period that ran from November 1, 2022, until January 15, 2023, for most marketplaces. According to HHS, total plan selections include 3.6 million people...
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