Insurer-Friendly Case Law Under Fire in Fifth Circuit

Case law that helped insurers and benefit plans survive legal challenges for more than two decades may be on the chopping block in one federal appeals court (Ariana M. v. Humana Health Plan of Tex., Inc., 5th Cir., No. 16-20174, order granting en banc rehearing 7/10/17).

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit announced July 10 that all the court’s judges would rehear a recent case raising questions about the proper standard of judicial review in disputes over denied benefits under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. In that case, three Fifth Circuit judges affirmed Humana ...