Magistrate Orders Broad Reprocessing Of ERISA Plaintiffs’ Mental Health Claims

Mealey's (November 4, 2020, 2:13 PM EST) -- SAN FRANCISCO — Plaintiffs improperly denied mental health Employee Retirement Income Security Act benefits are entitled to reprocessing of claims — including individuals who never sought post-denial services and those who did and paid out of pocket — and on remand the insurer may rely only on the reasons stated in the original denial, a federal magistrate judge in California said Nov. 3 while largely denying the insurer summary judgment and its motion to decertify three classes (David Wit, et al. v. United Behavioral Health, No. 14-2346, Gary Alexander, et al. v. United Behavioral Health, No. 14-5337, N.D. Calif., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 205435, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 205429)....