THE ISSUE

Could substances such as medical marijuana and “magic mushrooms” soon be covered under employee benefit plans? At the very least, two recent executive orders issued by President Donald Trump could expand the accepted use of these substances. This blog will review the executive orders and discuss the potential impact on employers and benefit plans. “Increasing Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research” was issued December 18, 2025 and followed by an April 2026 order from the Justice Department and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) “immediately placing both FDA-approved products containing marijuana and marijuana products regulated by a state medical marijuana license in Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act, as well as the initiation of an expedited administrative hearing process to consider the broader rescheduling of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III.” Previously, in August 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommended to DEA that marijuana be controlled under Schedule III. “The recommendation from HHS included a determination that medical marijuana has a currently accepted medical use,” the December 2025 executive order noted. The administrative hearing process to consider broader rescheduling began June 29, 2026. Another executive order, Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness , was issued April 18, 2026. The order directs HHS to accelerate access to treatments for patients with serious mental illness. The o

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Nebraska’s attorney general has joined dozens of states in settling with a drugmaker over claims it manipulated and artificially inflated prices for generic drugs. A release from Attorney General Mike Hilgers’ office says Glenmark settled with 48 states and territories for $29.6 million. The drugmaker is accused of reducing competition and restraining trade. Investigators claim competing industry executives met during casual outings and by phone or text to discuss discouraging competition and raising drug prices. As part of the settlement, Glenmark must cooperate with ongoing litigation and commit to internal reforms. Nebraska will receive just over $128,000. If you purchased generic drugs from Glenmark between May 2009 and December 2019, you could be eligible for some of that money. Check here . Copyright 2026 WOWT. All rights reserved.

Welcome to Goodwin s ERISA Litigation Update. Litigation involving ERISA-governed benefits plans has exploded in recent years. Lawyers in our award-winning ERISA Litigation practice have extensive experience litigating these cases across the country, as well as representing clients in Department of Labor investigations. The ERISA Litigation Update gathers notable developments in this space, including important court decisions and appeals as well as regulatory guidance, and provides information regarding those developments on a quarterly basis. Key Takeaway: The Eighth Circuit became the first appellate court to weigh in on the wave of ERISA forfeiture lawsuits coming up through the federal courts. In Matula v. Wells Fargo Company (No. 25-2441), the Eighth Circuit affirmed the standing-based dismissal of a challenge to Wells Fargo s use of forfeitures to satisfy its employer contributions. This case involved how Wells Fargo chose to reallocate prior employer contributions that departing employees forfeited before those contributions fully vested. The Wells Fargo 401(k) plan allowed those forfeited funds to be used in one of three ways: (1) to offset employer contributions, (2) to pay plan expenses, or (3) to make corrective adjustments. Plaintiff claimed that Wells Fargo s use of forfeitures to offset employer contributions violated ERISA s fiduciary duties and were prohibited transactions. The Eighth Circuit rejected those claims. It held that the plaintiff failed to satis

In the last few decades, consolidation among health care providers has reshaped US health care markets. The empirical evidence is clear that consolidation decreases competition and increases costs, while reducing access to and quality of care for patients. And this consolidation is ubiquitous; as of 2025, 94 percent of hospitals operate in highly concentrated markets. Concerns about highly concentrated markets are further heightened by the rise of private equity , as these investors primarily consolidate providers as a means of financial arbitrage and profit maximization, with disastrous outcomes for hospitals and patients alike. Given these concerns, many states have taken up reforms to strengthen their authority to monitor and oversee hospital transactions. In this blog, we provide background on the scope of state transaction oversight laws, and spotlight Nebraska and Minnesota’s authorities. While we have previously written about Oregon’s Health Care Market Oversight program and highlighted recent developments to Massachusetts ’ and New Mexico’s authorities, here we spotlight two states with lesser known, but robust, authorities. As other states consider bolstering their transaction oversight, these states may serve as models. Transaction oversight is a regulatory process that enables state-level agencies to receive notice of, review, and/or approve certain health care transactions 1 . Transactions typically include “material changes”––mergers, acquisitions,