Northwestern University Sued Over Health Plan Premium Tiers

Northwestern University’s employee health plan wrongly includes a “premium” option that charges higher fees without providing any additional benefits, a proposed class action says.

Northwestern’s health plan flouts the Employee Retirement Income Security Act because its premium tier—which charges higher fees but offers lower deductibles—is “financially dominated” by the value tier that charges lower premiums with higher deductibles, two former plan participants said in a June 20 complaint. This causes workers who elect the premium tier to pay “wholly excessive and unnecessary healthcare expenses in the form of lost wages due to excessive premiums unaccompanied by any reduced out-of-pocket ...