Microsoft, Premera Beat ERISA Mental Health Claims, But Owe Fees

Premera Blue Cross and Microsoft Corp. must pay a Microsoft employee statutory damages for wrongfully withholding health care plan documents relating to mental health coverage from them, the Tenth Circuit said.

The court ordered the dismissal of all but one of the employee’s claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act claims, but Judge Veronica S. Rossman said the remaining claim was sufficient to uphold a lower court’s award of over $190,000 in statutory damages and court costs.

M.S. worked for Microsoft and Premera managed the tech giant’s employee benefit plan. ...