The Chartwell Chronicles: Permanent Disability
Physician Employment Agreements: Focus on Financial Planning
An Overview of New Jersey Workers' Compensation
An Overview of Massachusetts Workers' Compensation
Workers' Compensation Academy: Requests by Defense Counsel – A Defense Analysis of Materials Needed from Carriers and Clients for NJ Workers' Compensation Claims
An Overview of New York Workers' Compensation
Workers' Compensation Academy: Pennsylvania COVID-19 Update: Layoff or Furlough from Light Duty as a Result of COVID-19
The 2024 Colorado legislative session concluded on May 8, 2024. Consistent with last year’s session, the 74th General Assembly ended with a number of new employment-related laws passing. Enacted legislation will enhance...more
This month’s Friday Five explores recent decisions with issues spanning physician power of attorney to preexisting exclusions and the fiduciary duty of an insurance company....more
In October 2022, the Tenth Circuit heard oral argument in D.K. et al. v. United Behavioral Health et al., a case that could significantly impact what health plans must include in any notification to claimants of an adverse...more
In Ruderman v. Liberty Mut. Grp., Inc., No. 21-817, 2022 WL 244086 (2d Cir. Jan. 27, 2022), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that reclassification of a claimant’s disability from one that is...more
In Adkins v. Life Insurance Company of North America, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 37847 (E.D. Wash., March 1, 2021), a Washington district court blocked a plaintiff’s attempt to conduct discovery into the claim review history of an...more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) recently released key Medicare figures for 2021 that will affect all elderly and disabled individuals who receive program benefits. This notice summarizes the changes...more
North Carolina District Court Permits Plan’s Lawsuit Against Third Party Administrator to Continue A federal district court in North Carolina has ruled that a plan subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of...more
Employers impacted by COVID-19 have a variety of questions regarding the situation’s effect on employee health and welfare plans - particularly on how to maintain compliance with state and federal regulations....more
Employee Benefit Questions - If I furlough or lay off employees, can I continue some or all of their benefits during the leave? There may be ways to continue some or all benefits during a furlough or layoff. Each plan...more
Stokes v. Muschinske, No. B280116, 2019 WL 1513208 (Cal. Ct. App. Mar. 14, 2019) (awaiting official publication) begs the question, does reference to a plaintiff’s membership in a health care plan, like Kaiser Permanente, or...more
This month’s Friday Five covers recent cases relating to interpretation of the term, "own occupation," the appropriate remedy for termination of benefits where the administrator’s review was limited to the "own occupation"...more
This month's Friday Five covers three cases that address issues that can be critical for LTD insurers litigating matters in federal court, specifically issues related to injunctions, statutes of limitations and ERISA...more
This month’s Friday Five covers recent cases ruling on the enforceability of self-reported symptom limitations in policies, the scope of the term "plan document," the propriety of an insurer’s reliance on surveillance over...more
If you are injured due to medical malpractice or because of another person's negligence, you could receive care through your state's Medicaid program. In such cases, the state has a legal right to recover funds from your...more
In Baker v. Aetna, (U.S. Northern District Court of Texas, 2017), Charlize Marie Baker filed claims against her employer and Aetna after having been denied benefits under the health plan and the short-term disability plan for...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently confirmed that ERISA preempts state insurance law bans on discretionary clauses for self-funded ERISA plans....more
Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), a lawmaker known for closely monitoring the changing nature of work, has introduced in the Senate legislation to promote innovative ways to offer portable benefits to workers in the on-demand...more
Independent contractors and other contingent workers are not currently eligible for workers’ compensation, disability benefits, health insurance coverage, and pension benefits under federal and most state laws. This may well...more
Changes are imminent for the Affordable Care Act and a range of other laws and regulations affecting the health care industry. Ballard Spahr attorneys established a Health Care Reform Initiative in 2008 to monitor and analyze...more
Editor's Overview - This month, we look at the implications of the two federal district court cases from California that applied the ban on discretionary clauses typically found in ERISA plans to self-insured plans. The...more
Editor's Overview - This month, we review the Second Circuit's ruling in New York State Psychiatric Ass'n, Inc. v. UnitedHealth Grp. wherein the Second Circuit ruled that: (i) a provider association has associational...more
1. The Claim - An insurer may use the alleged misrepresentations and/or omissions of an insured in the life, health and disability insurance application process in two ways: (i) affirmatively, by seeking rescission of...more