Group health plans typically provide that when the plan pays benefits for treatment of injuries incurred as the result of a third party’s negligence, the plan is entitled to reimbursement for those payments from the proceeds of injured participant’s recovery (if any) from the third party. In general, those kinds of provisions are enforceable under federal law, and careful drafting of precise and unambiguous language can help ensure that the plan is entitled to reimbursement even if the participant’s recovery does not fully compensate the participant for the harm suffered by the participant – that is, make the participant whole. Further, again assuming appropriate language in the plan, the plan’s reimbursement will not be subject to reduction for a share of the participant’s attorneys’ fees. That appears to be the state of the law in West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky. Until about a month ago, it was the law in Pennsylvania as well.
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Steptoe & Johnson Recent News- Legislative Update - January 27, 2012 January 27, 2012
- West Virginia Legislature Passes Legislation to Lure a Cracker Facility January 25, 2012
- Transporting All of that Marcellus Shale Gas to the Market - The Critical Effect of Regulation on Midstream Pipeline Companies January 24, 2012
- West Virginia House of Delegates Passes Legislation to Lure a Cracker Facility January 24, 2012
- EPA Establishes Mercury and Air Toxics Standards January 17, 2012
THE MINISTERIAL EXCEPTION TO EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION SUITS: Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC
Earlier this month in a case styled Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a significant decision for religious employers throughout the country. For the first time, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized a ministerial exception to employment discrimination suits. The ministerial exception bars discrimination claims by individuals in the clergy against certain religious organizations or religious educational institutions under the theory that government regulation of religion is prohibited by the First Amendment freedom of religion.
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