About the Program

For decades, NEEBC's Washington Update program has focused on the latest developments affecting employee benefit plans, including new legislation, regulatory initiatives, policy developments, and emerging trends. Our 2026 program continues this longstanding tradition with a distinguished lineup of speakers offering insights into the political, regulatory, and business issues shaping the benefits landscape.

The program will open with Scott Behrens, Vice President, and Director of Government Relations for Lockton Companies, who will analyze the results of the 2026 midterm elections and their implications for employee benefits. In some years, politics and policy serve merely as the backdrop to benefits regulation. 2026 is not one of those years. With control of both houses of Congress potentially at stake, the election results could have a significant impact on the regulation, taxation, and future direction of employee benefit plans. To say that the stakes are high would be an understatement.

Next, Elizabeth Schumacher, Acting Director of the Office of Health Plan Standards and Compliance Assistance within the U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), will provide an update on EBSA's regulatory, interpretive, and enforcement activities across the broad range of pension and welfare benefit plans, programs, and arrangements that fall within the agency's jurisdiction.

The program will conclude with a PBM-focused panel discussion led by Theresa Carnegie, Member, Mintz, Washington, D.C. Ms. Carnegie is nationally recognized for her work in health care law and pharmaceutical supply chain regulation. She has written thoughtfully and extensively on the evolving regulation of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) by both Congress and the states. The panel will examine the latest developments affecting PBMs, including legislative and regulatory initiatives, PBM contracting practices, transparency requirements, fiduciary considerations, and the evolving state of pharmacy benefits.