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126 Matching News Items
1.
Oklahoma asks Supreme Court to Address Circuit Split on ERISA Preemption of State PBM Laws
Miller & Chevalier
May 16, 2024
Miller & Chevalier
May 16, 2024
"Oklahoma's insurance department asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Tenth Circuit's decision in PCMA v. Mulready ... which held that parts of an Oklahoma law regulating pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) were preempted by ERISA and by Medicare Part D. In its petition, the state says that Mulready 'is irreconcilable with [the Supreme Court's] unanimous decision in Rutledge,' and that Mulready also created a 'textbook' circuit split with the Eighth Circuit." [PCMA v. Mulready, No. 22-6074 (10th Cir. Aug. 15, 2023; cert pet. filed May 10, 2024, No. 23-1213)]
2.
Investment Advice Fiduciary Regulation Faces First APA Challenge
Miller & Chevalier
May 9, 2024
Miller & Chevalier
May 9, 2024
"The FACC's complaint relies heavily on a 2018 Fifth Circuit case -- binding in the Eastern District of Texas -- that struck down a 2016 iteration of the Fiduciary Rule, arguing that the 2024 Fiduciary Rule is 'effectively indistinguishable' from the 2016 rule that was vacated in full ... The complaint also alleges that the speed with which DOL promulgated the Fiduciary Rule ... demonstrates both that the Rule is merely a 'regurgitation' of the 2016 rule and DOL's 'zeal to reach the desired result of turning every financial product salesperson who deals with a retirement investor into a fiduciary.' " [Federation of Americans for Consumer Choice Inc. v. DOL, No. 24-0163 (E.D. Tex. complaint filed May 2, 2024)]
3.
Fourth Circuit Holds That State Health Plan Exclusions Violate Equal Protection Clause
Miller & Chevalier
May 3, 2024
Miller & Chevalier
May 3, 2024
"On appeal, the states' principal argument was that the exclusions restricted coverage based on diagnosis, not suspect class -- i.e., the exclusions prevented all patients from receiving coverage for excluded treatments based on a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, regardless of the sex or gender identity of the individual patient. The Fourth Circuit rejected the states' argument, holding that it 'elides common sense and is inconsistent with Supreme Court precedent about how to approach equal-protection analyses,' which focuses on 'the group for whom the law is a restriction, not the group for whom the law is irrelevant.' " [Kadel v. Folwell, No. 22-1721 (4th Cir. Apr. 29, 2024)]
4.
'Prohibited Transaction' Cases Head to the Supreme Court
Miller & Chevalier
Apr. 11, 2024
Miller & Chevalier
Apr. 11, 2024
"[T]he Supreme Court [has been] asked to resolve a circuit split concerning what a plaintiff must plead to assert a 'prohibited transaction' under ERISA.... [T]he Court [faces] three [such] petitions at once." [Bugielski v. AT&T Servs., Inc., No. 21-56196 (9th Cir. Nov. 8, 2023; cert pet. filed Apr. 5, 2024); Cunningham v. Cornell Univ., No. 21-0088 (2d Cir. Nov. 14, 2023; cert. pet. filed Mar. 13, 2024); D.L. Markham DDS, MSD, Inc. 401(K) Plan v. Variable Annuity Life Ins. Co., No. 22-20540 (5th Cir. Dec. 14, 2023; cert. pet. filed Mar. 18, 2024)]
5.
Tri-Agencies Rewrite Short-Term Insurance Rules
Miller & Chevalier
Apr. 4, 2024
Miller & Chevalier
Apr. 4, 2024
"The [final rule] adds only new consumer notice requirements for fixed indemnity insurance.... The proposed rule [had] included sweeping changes to the tax treatment of hospital and other fixed indemnity benefit coverage purchased on a pre-tax basis and substantiation requirements for medical expense payments, which were also not finalized. The Departments 'intend to address these issues in more detail in future guidance.' "
6.
President's FY 2025 Budget Seeks to Expand Mental Health Coverage and Protections
Miller & Chevalier
Mar. 14, 2024
Miller & Chevalier
Mar. 14, 2024
"The Biden administration released its fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget on March 11, 2024, and it contains multiple legislative proposals that, if enacted into law, would significantly impact mental health and substance use disorder coverage offered through ERISA health plans. Although a president's budget proposal is akin to a wish list, especially during an election year, the FY 2025 proposal reveals aspirational mental health initiatives that the current administration would like to see become law."
7.
Court Allows ACA Discrimination Claim Challenging Plan Infertility Policy and Seeking Nationwide Injunction to Proceed
Miller & Chevalier
Mar. 7, 2024
Miller & Chevalier
Mar. 7, 2024
"This case illustrates how class action litigants are bypassing the remedial provisions in ERISA and pursing section 1557 discrimination claims to recover damages resulting from benefits denials and to obtain nationwide injunctive relief barring implementation of plan provisions that are alleged to discriminate on the basis of a protected status." [Berton v. Aetna, Inc., No. 23-1849 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 29, 2024)]
8.
The CARES Act Paid Leave Door May Be Open, But the Path to Recovery Remains Narrow and Uncertain for Most Government Contractors
Miller & Chevalier
Feb. 29, 2024
Miller & Chevalier
Feb. 29, 2024
"[M]ost federal contractors know that it can be challenging to recover increased costs for paid leave stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic under Section 3610 of the [CARES] Act.... A recent Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) decision provides claimants with some reason for hope by confirming that the ASBCA has Contract Disputes Act (CDA) jurisdiction over appeals from a contracting officer's denial of Section 3610 claims.... [E]stablishing jurisdiction is only the first step, and the path to recovering paid leave costs remains narrow and highly dependent on the facts of each case."
9.
Private ESG Lawsuit Survives Motion to Dismiss
Miller & Chevalier
Feb. 29, 2024
Miller & Chevalier
Feb. 29, 2024
"[T]he court held that the amended complaint sufficiently alleged a breach of duty of prudence based on the allegation that, along with general reporting on the underperformance of ESG funds, the defendants should have considered various circumstances in which fund managers have cast proxy votes connected to ESG strategies that led to the decline in value of various stocks." [Spence v. American Airlines, Inc., No. 23-0552 (N.D. Tex. February 21, 2024) ]
10.
Complaints Alleging Mishandling of Forfeitures on the Rise
Miller & Chevalier
Feb. 23, 2024
Miller & Chevalier
Feb. 23, 2024
"The parties in ... the first of the six [lawsuits] to be filed, just wrapped up briefing on the defendants' motion to dismiss, in which the defendants argue that the named plaintiff has failed to allege a breach of fiduciary duty, because funding a plan is a settlor function, not a fiduciary function, and because the complaint does not allege an injury to the plan."
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