Hospital groups support VT in claims database case

The AHA and Association of American Medical Colleges Friday submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the state of Vermont’s position that the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 does not preempt the state’s law requiring that all insurers, including the third-party administrator for a self-funded employer plan, report claims data and other information to the state’s database. “Self-insured plans cover a large, growing and distinctive portion of the population,” the brief explains. “It is essential that they be included in all-payer databases if those databases are to realize their potential, and if America’s hospitals are to realize their goal of improving community health and controlling costs while providing the high-quality care for which they are known. This Court should not interpret federal law in a way that would hamper that effort.” In the case, Gobeille v. Liberty Mutual Insurance, Vermont argues that the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision is inconsistent with Supreme Court precedents on ERISA preemption and will impair significantly state regulation of health care, especially in states with claims reporting programs similar to Vermont’s; Liberty Mutual contends that the decision is consistent with prior decisions preempting state laws that have an impermissible “connection with” ERISA-covered plans.