Eating disorders are a serious public health concern in the United States and around the world. At least 30 million people in the United States will suffer from an eating disorder at some point in their life. And eating disorders don’t just impact women. Approximately 10 million men in the United States will face an eating […]
One of the most common mistakes we see with long term disability (“LTD”) denials (ERISA and non-ERISA/bad faith) is claimants rushing to submit their appeal. The desire to move quickly is understandable: You have no money coming in; You are angry at the insurance company and want to give them a piece of your mind; Continue reading
Many of the “rules” governing ERISA claims are not contained in the statute itself, but rather are the result of judicial decisions interpreting ERISA. In the landmark case of Firestone v. Bruch, 489 U.S. 101 (1989), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of an ERISA fiduciary (including insurance companies!) to reserve “discretion” to decide eligibility […]
Donald Trump has just been sworn into office as this country’s 45th president, and Barack Obama is a private citizen once again. Now that Obama is gone, will his signature legislative achievement follow close behind him? If conservatives have their way, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly known as Obamacare, will be a blip in […]
Why pass on free personalized advice? One of the people who contacted us this week was a woman who had her Long Term Disability benefits terminated by Standard Insurance Company after Standard had paid her those benefits for many years. Despite multiple surgeries, her symptoms had not improved. Each morning she takes powerful pain medications. Sometimes those medications […]
On January 13, 2017, the Los Angeles Times published a column entitled Healthcare insurance hell: If at first your claim is denied, try, try again The article describes on insured’s extreme difficulty in obtaining approval for treatments of her multiple autoimmune disorders that cause chronic pain, migraines, extreme dizziness and debilitating chronic fatigue. As the […]
In Jacowski v. Kraft Foods, et al., the Federal District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin denied plaintiff Kathy Jacowski‘s claim that Aetna arbitrarily and capriciously terminated her long-term disability benefits in violation of ERISA. Jacowski began working for Kraft Foods in 1981. In 2008, Jacowksi quit her job, citing her poor mental health. […]
In Stupar v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife), plaintiff, an icer with the Kroger Company, received 24 months of long term disability benefits due to her diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depression, panic and anxiety disorder. At the end of the two-year period, MetLife terminated her benefits on the grounds that she was […]
In Stupar v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife), plaintiff, an icer with the Kroger Company, received 24 months of long term disability benefits due to her diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depression, panic and anxiety disorder. At the end of the two-year period, MetLife terminated her benefits on the grounds that she was […]
In Stupar v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife), plaintiff, an icer with the Kroger Company, received 24 months of long term disability benefits due to her diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depression, panic and anxiety disorder. At the end of the two-year period, MetLife terminated her benefits on the grounds that she was […]