New Jersey Audit Uncovers Conflicts of Interest in the Management of Public Health Insurance Funds

In this episode of Brach Eichler Talks, members of our Healthcare Law and Government Investigations practices discuss the New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller’s recent audit uncovering serious conflicts of interest in the management of public health insurance funds. Learn how one insurance firm allegedly influenced multimillion-dollar contracts, the state’s response, and what steps municipalities and school boards must take to ensure transparency and compliance moving forward.

Click Here to read the full article now!

For more information, contact: Riza I. Dagli | 973.403.3103 | [e-mail] Edward J. Yun | 973.364.5229 | [e-mail] Cynthia J. Liba | 973.403.3106 | [e-mail]

*This is intended to provide general information, not legal advice. Please contact the authors if you need specific legal advice.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Thank you for tuning in to the Brach Eichler Talks

(00:06):
podcast, where we explore and discuss today's trending legal topics.
In this episode, we'll discuss a recent article from Brach Eichler's November Healthcare Law
Update titled, "New Jersey Audit Uncovers Conflicts of Interest in the Management of Public
Health Insurance Funds."… On September 9th, 2025, the New Jersey Office of the State

(00:27):
Comptroller (OSC) issued a report about violations of conflict of interest rules and public
contracting laws involving public health insurance funds
(HIFs) that are used by local governments and school boards.
The OSC's investigation found that one insurance firm, Conner Strong & Buckelew (CSB) and its
affiliate, PERMA, gained control over several HIFs, including the school's health insurance

(00:51):
fund (SHIF), by influencing how multimillion dollar contracts were written, awarded, and
priced, even while CSB and PERMA competed for and won these government contracts.
Further, while CSB and PERMA represented that they were separate independent entities linked
only by a parent company, CSB and PERMA functioned as
one entity and shared leadership and employees.

(01:14):
Although SHIF paid PERMA and CSB a total of $36 million dollars from 2021 to 2025,
CSB and PERMA did not disclose the conflicts of interest to state
regulators or school officials as is legally required.
Additionally, procurement processes were structured to favor CSB and PERMA, which limited
competition and violated procurement laws.

(01:37):
The OSC directed the affected HIFs to submit corrective action plans within 60 days.
In addition, the OSC referred the matters to the Department of Banking and Insurance, the
Department of Community Affairs, the Office of the Attorney General's Division of Consumer
Affairs, and the School Ethics Commission, and called for all insurance funds to review their

(01:58):
vendor relationships and procurement practices, and for the legislature to take action to
require greater transparency and oversight
of public health insurance funds.
For more information, contact Riza I. Dagli, Esq., Member and Chair, Criminal Defense and
Government Investigations at 973-403-3103 or [e-mail], or Edward J.

(02:23):
Yun, Esq., Member, Healthcare Practice at 973-364-5229 or [e-mail], or Cynthia J.
Liba, Esq., Council, Healthcare Practice at 973-403-3106 or
[e-mail].
Don't forget to subscribe to our podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

(02:44):
Follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook for updates on new episodes.
For more information and resources, visit BrachEichler.com.
This is intended to provide general information, not legal advice.
Please contact the authors if you need specific legal advice.
Brach Eichler LLC is a full service law firm based in Roseland, New Jersey with over eighty attorneys.

(03:06):
The firm is focused on the following practice areas, healthcare law, real estate, litigation
, trusts and estates, business transactions and financial services, personal injury, criminal
defense and government investigations, labor and employment, environmental and land use,
family law services, patent, intellectual property, and

(03:27):
information technology, real estate tax appeals, tax, and cannabis