Alaska Federal Judge: Lab Claims Preempted By ERISA, FEHBA

Mealey's (August 19, 2016, 12:58 PM EDT) -- ANCHORAGE, Alaska — An Alaska federal judge on Aug. 16 ruled that Alaska’s Prompt Pay Statute, requiring insurers to pay benefit claims within 30 days, is preempted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act for claims related to employee benefit plans and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Act (FEHBA) for claims related to federal worker benefit plans (John D. Zipperer Jr. v. Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska, No. 3:15-CV-00208, D. Alaska; 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 109531)....