[Source: Health Lawyers Weekly, November 2, 2007]
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama granted a motion for interlocutory appeal October 15 on the question of whether whether § 1395w-26(b)(3) of the Medicare Act is a complete preemption statute. The court ruled in the instant case that at least some of plaintiffs' state law claims were completely preempted, while the same court and another district court ruled previously that similar claims were not subject to complete preemption. See Bolden v. Healthspring of Alabama, Inc., Nos. 07-413-CG-B, 07-414-CG-M (S.D. Ala. 2007); and Harris v. Pacificare Life & Health Ins. Co., No. 2:06-956-ID (M.D. Ala. 2007).
The cases involved lawsuits brought against health insurers by Medicare beneficiaries asserting they were fraudulently induced into enrolling in the insurers' Medicare Advantage (MA) plans.
Continue reading
Case: Dial v. HealthSpring of Ala., Inc., No. 2:07-0412-KD-C (S.D. Ala. Oct. 15, 2007).
