UnitedHealth Patients’ Addiction Coverage Suit Revived, Again

By: Jeffrey Lynne April 12, 2024 10:50 pm

Time to read: 5 Minutes

Law360 (April 11, 2024, 10:18 PM EDT) — The Ninth Circuit on Thursday revived for the second time a proposed class action accusing UnitedHealth of wrongly rejecting coverage for outpatient substance use disorder treatments in violation of federal benefits law, finding the plaintiff plausibly alleged the insurer employed an excessively strict review process for those claims.

In an 18-page published decision issued April 11, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld in part and reversed in part U.S. District Judge James V. Selna’s order dismissing plaintiff Ryan S.’ complaint, brought under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, against UnitedHealth Group and its subsidiaries. The suit claims the companies wrongly and systematically denied mental health and substance use disorder treatment claims.

For more go to: https://www.law360.com/articles/1824449/print?section=health