How health insurers get a free pass to deny coverage from a 52-year-old law meant to protect worker pensions

A law designed to protect worker pensions is now shielding health insurers from lawsuits over wrongfully denied claims. ERISA—the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, passed fifty-two years ago—bars millions of patients from suing for damages. According to Miranda Yaver, an assistant professor of health policy at the University of Pittsburgh, this legal loophole leaves patients with limited remedies when insurers wrongly deny coverage. The law was never meant for this purpose, but insurance companies have found a powerful shield.

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