You know that theme music from the movie Jaws? Cue it up – the sharks are circling the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Act. Hard on the heels of the recent reports that the state is going to have to increase the financial obligations of employers to maintain the near universal coverage called for by the
Health Insurance
Massachusetts’ Pay or Play Act: The Triumph of Hope Over Experience?
By Stephen Rosenberg on
I have said it before and I will say it again: the day they fess up to the real costs of insuring the uninsured in Massachusetts and admit they need to pass that cost onto employers is the day before someone files a lawsuit asserting that the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Act is preempted. Take…
Understanding ERISA Preemption as a Legitimate Congressional Policy Determination
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Many, many people object to ERISA preemption, viewing it as some sort of nasty trick that defendants use to avoid liability in ERISA related cases. Do a quick search for ERISA and preemption on Google Blog and you will find that out pretty quick. But to me, they misunderstand preemption, which was a legitimate policy…
The Hard Headed Business Case for ERISA Preemption of State Health Insurance Mandates
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in Health Insurance, Preemption
Why does ERISA preemption matter in the health insurance context, and why do many people think it should preclude state health insurance mandates, such as the Wal-Mart law already deemed preempted in Maryland and the San Francisco ordinance that is currently the subject of litigation over the question? Leaving aside the legal reasons why the…
A Blog to Pass Along, and Some Thoughts About the Supreme Court’s Interest in ERISA
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Lots going on, lots to talk about. Let’s start with this one, which, coincidentally, allows me to kill two birds with one stone. You may recall that some time back I mentioned that I had come across two interesting blogs that I wanted to pass along, one of which was The Float, covering primarily…
A Potpourri of Interesting California Insurance Coverage Decisions
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Still on trial, but I did have time this afternoon to read this interesting piece, summarizing a number of interesting appellate decisions over the past year from California courts on a range of insurance coverage issues, running from post-claim underwriting of health insurance to the scope of coverage granted by directors and officers policies. The…
Money Talks, Even About the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Act
By Stephen Rosenberg on
A number of different things I want to talk about, including an interesting decision discussing the obligations of plan sponsors when it comes to selecting advisors and some interesting thoughts on QDROs. I will sprinkle those in later, but for now I thought I would pass along Steve Bailey of the Boston Globe’s column today…
The Massachusetts Health Care Reform Act as Evidence of the Need for Preemption
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Stories like this make clear that advocates of state fair share plans who like to point to the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Act as a shining exemplar of what could be accomplished if only ERISA preemption would go away are barking up the wrong tree. Rather, the article, with its discussion of spiraling costs to…
And Still Another View on Preemption and the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Act
By Stephen Rosenberg on
I’ve noted in the past that the problem with state health care reform acts mandating health insurance is that they don’t tackle the issue that is deterring employers from providing broader health insurance benefits, namely the ever increasing and rapidly escalating cost of health insurance. In response, Massachusetts lawyer David Harlow argues on his blog…
Someone Else’s Thoughts On Preemption and the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Act
By Stephen Rosenberg on
People with thin skins – or who can’t laugh at themselves – shouldn’t write blogs. I got a good chuckle out of this over my morning coffee this morning.