The rising judicial chorus goes to Washington: Senate Finance Committee to consider disability insurers’ conduct under ERISA [UPDATED]

Next week, the Senate Finance Committee is going to consider the manner in which ERISA affects the behavior of disability insurance companies. Since at least a few Senators will be paying at least some attention to the issue, this is a good time to make some noise. You can learn how to submit your comments for the record in the Senate hearings here.

A few witnesses have already submitted written testimony ahead of time. One of them is United States District Court Senior Judge William M. Acker, Jr., of the Northern District of Alabama. Judge Acker’s testimony focuses on the “discretion” scam, in which insurers confer upon themselves “discretion” in their insurance policies and then use that as a shield to keep judges from reversing their improper claim denials. A few highlights from Judge Acker:

I am not saying that the courts, including the Supreme Court, have not tried to make sense of ERISA, and to make it workable, but in truth, the situation is worse in 2010 than it was in 1998, and getting worse every day.

The language [Congress] chose in 1974, if it had not, over time, been altered or obliterated by the courts, would provide for de novo consideration by a court of all denials of ERISA benefits. ERISA’s Section 502(a)(1)(B) straightforwardly provides that any beneficiary of a plan governed by ERISA can bring a “civil action ... to recover benefits due him under the terms of his plan”. Rule 2 of the Federal Rules of Procedure provides: “There is one form of action – the civil action”. This language recognizes nothing less than an independent consideration by the court, a “trial on the merits”. The procedure concocted by the courts in the years since 1974, now called “judicial review”, based on an examination of the administrative record, while giving deference to the conflicted decision-maker who has already denied the claim, simply does not fit the scheme that Congress contemplated.

ERISA jurisprudence will stay as messed up as it is, unless Congress reworks it. The courts have not rescued ERISA, and cannot be expected to do so. The most important legislative change that I implore you to make is to make it clear that when Congress says “civil action”, as it did in 1974, it means what it said, “civil action” and not “judicial review”.

Here’s Judge Acker’s testimony in its entirety; it is definitely worth a read:

Testimony by Judge William Acker to Senate Finance Committee re ERISA


You'll be able to access the testimony of other witnesses here.

It is never a bad time to do so, but now is a particularly good time to make some noise to your Congressional representatives.

UPDATE (9/28/2010): You can watch the hearing in its entirety here.