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 The nine justices heard a one-hour oral argument over whether a 2005
Vermont data collection law aimed at improving the quality of
healthcare applies to self-funded insurance plans, which are most
commonly used by large companies.
Liberty Mutual Insurance Group Inc[LBRTML.UL], which runs a
self-funded plan administered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of
Massachusetts, objected when asked to provide data, saying the U.S.
Employee Retirement Security Act exempts it from such requirements.
The data includes the type of healthcare services paid for by
insurers on medical claims by a patient and how much they paid.
The federal law is intended to protect employers from a patchwork of
burdensome state regulations, the company said.
Self-funded plans provide insurance for 93 million Americans,
according to the American Benefits Council. They are an alternative
to plans in which companies contract with insurance companies, which
assume the risk.
Vermont is one of 18 states with a data collection law. Liberty
Mutual and its supporters argued such requirements are a particular
problem for companies that operate nationally because they have to
meet multiple different requirements.
Several justices appeared sympathetic on that point.
"If each state has its own specifications, then that becomes
burdensome and costly," Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said.
Likewise, Justice Stephen Breyer said that if 50 different states
had 50 different laws, it would impose costs on plans "purely for
bureaucratic reasons."
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Some members of the court seemed sympathetic to Vermont's desire to
collect the information.
Justice Elena Kagan questioned whether the financial cost would be
as great as Liberty Mutual suggested, indicating the process was
mostly automated.
"You can say it's 93 million people, but, you know, in the end,
what's the cost?" she said.
A ruling is due by the end of June. The case is Gobeille v. Liberty
Mutual, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 14-181.
(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham)
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