Employer Update: October 30, 2026

Gag Clause Prohibition Compliance Attestation

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, Section 201, requires that a group health plan or insurer may not enter into an agreement with a healthcare provider, network or association of providers, Third Party Administrator (TPA) or other service provider offering access to a network of providers that would directly or indirectly restrict a group health plan or insurer from providing provider-specific cost or quality of care information or data, electronically accessing de-identified claims and encounter information or data for each enrollee or sharing that information or data with a business associate.

The insurer or health plan must submit an attestation (formal confirmation) of compliance, annually on Dec. 31, beginning with Dec. 31, 2023. To ensure that Group Health Plans for which Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska (BCBSNE) provides TPA services comply with this requirement, BCBSNE:

• Will file the required group health plan attestations on behalf of all groups (at TIN level in BCBSNE system) prior to Dec. 31, 2026
• Will not attest to any services carved-out (e.g., pharmacy benefits), as it does not control the carved-out service contracts
  • If your plan has pharmacy services carved out, your BCBSNE account executive will reach out to confirm with you. 

If a group health plan prefers to file their own attestation, it must notify BCBSNE by Nov. 30, 2026, of its intention to do so, to prevent duplication.