News & Analysis as of

Health Insurance Class Action Employee Benefits

Husch Blackwell LLP

Employers Continue to Face ERISA Tobacco Surcharge Lawsuits, With Mixed Results

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Recently, companies have seen a spate of class action lawsuits challenging the legality of tobacco cessation wellness programs and related tobacco surcharges imposed by their employer-sponsored health benefit plans....more

Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL

Benefits Monthly Minute - May 2025

The May Monthly Minute brings you up-to-date on mental health parity enforcement relief, as well as smoker surcharge and prohibited transaction litigation. Nonenforcement of 2024 Mental Health Parity Regulations - Earlier...more

ArentFox Schiff

Mental Health Parity: In a Pair of Decisions, California Federal Court Rejects United’s Efforts to Kick Behavioral Health Class...

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Within the last month, the US District Court for the Northern District of California rejected efforts by United Behavioral Health (UBH) to dismiss and decertify two class actions seeking relief related to UBH’s processing of...more

Carlton Fields

Faulty COBRA Notices Can Cost Big Bucks

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When COBRA cases survive motions to dismiss, big dollars are at stake. Marrow v. E.R. Carpenter Co., No. 8:23-cv-02959, is a class action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida on behalf...more

Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL

Benefits Monthly Minute - April 2025

The April Monthly Minute showers readers with some eye-opening case law updates, ranging from a $38.8M jury verdict in a 401(k) fee case, to a pair of cases involving Elevance (f/k/a Anthem) health plan coverage exclusions....more

ArentFox Schiff

Anthem Set to Settle Five-Year Long Mental Health Coverage Class Action

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Anthem Inc. has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit brought by participants in employee health plans administered by the insurer....more

Maynard Nexsen

JPMorgan Sued Over Management of Prescription Drug Benefits

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On March 13, 2025, several current and former participants in the JPMorgan Chase Health Care and Insurance Program for Active Employees, as well as its component Medical Plan (collectively referred to as the “Plan”) filed a...more

Groom Law Group, Chartered

Plaintiffs Double Down on Challenges to PBM Arrangements in Class Action Lawsuits Involving Johnson & Johnson and JPMorganChase

On March 10, 2024, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint in a much-followed putative class action lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson (“J&J”) alleging that the plan fiduciaries for J&J’s group health plan violated ERISA by...more

Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL

Benefits Monthly Minute - March 2025

The March Monthly Minute brings you three recent case updates addressing 401(k) forfeiture utilization, TPA responsibility for recovering self-insured plan’s fraudulently paid claims, and continued PBM litigation in the wake...more

Amundsen Davis LLC

Refusing to Quit: Class Actions on Tobacco Surcharges in Health Plans Continue

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Over the past year, numerous class actions have been filed against large employers claiming their health plan surcharge for tobacco use is not in compliance with HIPAA nondiscrimination rules. With yet another lawsuit filed...more

Morgan Lewis - ML Benefits

Tobacco Surcharge Lawsuits: Considerations for Plan Sponsors

A growing number of class action lawsuits have been filed against employer-sponsored self-insured group health plans alleging that tobacco cessation wellness programs violate key provisions of the Employee Retirement Income...more

Carlton Fields

Eleventh Circuit Holds Arbitration Agreement Unenforceable Against Spouse of Former Employee

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In Lubin v. Starbucks Corp., the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals considered defendant Starbucks’ appeal of an order denying its motion to compel arbitration of the plaintiffs’ lawsuit alleging that Starbucks sent deficient...more

Warner Norcross + Judd

Holy Smokes: Is Your Tobacco Surcharge Program Compliant?

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A “tobacco surcharge” is part of many employers’ wellness programs, where the employer charges tobacco users higher health insurance premiums than non-tobacco users. A typical tobacco surcharge program will ask an employee if...more

Fisher Phillips

Rising ERISA Class-Action Lawsuits Over Tobacco Surcharges in Health Plans: What Employers Need to Know + 6 Steps to Stay...

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A wave of ERISA class-action lawsuits is challenging tobacco surcharge programs in employer-sponsored health plans across the U.S. These cases center on potential fiduciary breaches, with plaintiffs arguing that surcharges...more

UB Greensfelder LLP

What Employers Should Know About Tobacco Surcharge Litigation

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Tobacco surcharges have become the focus of class action litigation in recent months. Although corporate wellness programs are commonplace, employers that impose a tobacco surcharge (or other premium discount) in connection...more

Jones Day

Fiduciaries Beware: Employer Health Plan Under Fire for Alleged Prescription Drug Mismanagement

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An employer health plan is the latest target of class action litigation seeking redress for the alleged conduct of the plan's pharmacy benefit manager ("PBM")....more

Carlton Fields

Expect Focus - Volume III, September 2023

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Regulators Hit Jackpot: Off-Channel Communications - Several years before announcing the first “off-channel” communications enforcement action, the SEC and FINRA cautioned broker-dealers and investment advisers about...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Takeaways from a Recent COBRA Notice Class Action Settlement

Recent years have seen a barrage of class action lawsuits alleging that group health plan continuation coverage election notices, required under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), are deficient in one...more

Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL

Benefits Monthly Minute - October 2022

The October Monthly Minute highlights a class action that hinges on deficient COBRA notices, the new 2023 benefit plan limits, and a case that held the benefit plan provisions in effect at the time of a claim denial control....more

American Conference Institute (ACI)

[Virtual Event] 18th NATIONAL FORUM ON ERISA Litigation - November 18th - 19th, 10:45 am - 1:30 pm EST

Join us virtually to ensure that you are equipped with the latest updates and strategies to prevent, manage and defend against rising, costly ERISA disputes. There has never been a more critical time to “compare notes”...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

How COBRA Got Her Groove Back: Old Law Gets New Focus From DOL, Class Action Plaintiffs’ Attorneys

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Synopsis: After falling out of favor post-Affordable Care Act, when Health Insurance Marketplace coverage became a far more attractive post-termination health coverage alternative, everyone is once again talking about COBRA...more

Carlton Fields

Forewarned Is Forearmed: Why Companies Need to Review Their COBRA Notices to Avoid Growing Class Action Trend

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Even before the current pandemic crisis, we have noticed a growing trend in the filing of class action lawsuits challenging, under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), notices required to be issued by...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Class Certification Denied in ERISA Health Coverage Lawsuit

A federal district court denied class certification to health plan participants who claimed the plan promised them lifetime benefits. The court found too many individualized questions about what the plan told each...more

Proskauer Rose LLP

ERISA Newsletter - Third Quarter 2019

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In this edition of our Newsletter, we take a look at a pair of cases that, while unrelated, together remind us of the importance of having clear plan rules in place that reflect the plan sponsor’s intention. The first article...more

BakerHostetler

Location, Location, Location. Washington Federal Court Looks To Where Benefit Plan Was Signed And Negotiated In Agreeing To...

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Much like buying a home, location can mean everything when defending a class action. Therefore, it is common for defendants to try and transfer class actions to what is viewed as a more favorable jurisdiction when there is at...more

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