UnitedHealth Patient Revives Suit Over Substance Abuse Coverage

A patient suing UnitedHealth Group Inc. over its coverage of substance abuse treatments convinced the Ninth Circuit on Thursday to revive portions of his proposed class action claiming violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

The patient—referred to as Ryan S.—can move forward with the portions of his lawsuit accusing United of wrongly limiting or denying coverage for substance use disorder treatments, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said in an unpublished opinion. Ryan S. adequately alleged that he was harmed by these practices and therefore has standing to sue under ERISA, the court said.

But ...