Johnson & Johnson: The Expanding Frontier of Health Plan Liability

A 2024 federal jury finding against Johnson & Johnson marked a significant expansion of ERISA fiduciary liability into the group health plan context. The verdict signaled that the same level of scrutiny long applied to retirement plan investment menus is now being directed at pharmacy benefit management and health plan cost structures.

Plan sponsors are increasingly expected to evaluate their PBM arrangements with the same rigor historically applied to retirement plan providers — including independent benchmarking, conflict-of-interest analysis, and documented oversight of the arrangement's cost and service terms.

For HR and benefits professionals, this case represents a meaningful shift. Group health plan governance, which has historically operated with less formal oversight structure than retirement plans, is entering a period of heightened fiduciary accountability. Regency assists plan sponsors in building the oversight frameworks that this evolving landscape requires.