ERISA, Preemption and Comprehensive Federal Health Care: A Call for "Cooperative Federalism" to Preserve the States' Role in Formulating Health Care Policy

This article revisits the familiar theme of federalism and health care policy. It takes the position that federalism is decreasing and will decrease further under national health care that is fast becoming, if not already so, an exclusive field of federal regulation. The article draws this conclusion from three influences on federal regulation and policy: (1) the expanding preemptive effects of employee benefit regulation on state health care, as well as other law and public policy; (2) the increasing public policy favoring a comprehensive national health care policy; and (3) the existing dominance of federal medical care and assistance regulation in the field of health care. The article is a comment on the preemptive effect that federal employee benefit regulation presently has on state health care law and public policy. In addition, the article discusses the preemptive effect that comprehensive federal health care could eventually have on state law, public policy, and health care regulations.