High Court Allows Insurers To Limit Dialysis, Forcing Patients To Medicare
In a 7-2 decision, the justices said an employer-provided health plan could make all dialysis providers out of network, which reduces reimbursements from the plan. That can have the effect of forcing patients into Medicare, which covers serious kidney disease. The court also refused to take up an appeal by the maker of Roundup, which is facing massive liability claims from people asserting that the weed killer causes cancer.
Roll Call:
Supreme Court Sides With Insurer In Dialysis Coverage Case
The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 Tuesday that a group health plan in Ohio didn’t violate federal law by offering limited coverage for outpatient dialysis in a case brought by DaVita, one of the largest dialysis providers in the United States. The court sided with Marietta Memorial Hospital’s employee health plan, with Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh writing in the majority opinion that while the plan pays lower reimbursement rates for dialysis than for other treatments, it does not discriminate against patients with end-stage renal disease because it offers the same level of coverage for all patients with kidney disease in keeping with federal law. (Hellmann, 6/21)
Stat:
SCOTUS Rules For Insurer That Pushed Kidney Failure Patient To Medicare
Patients with kidney failure face a murky future if they have insurance coverage through a job, as the Supreme Court on Tuesday said employer health plans can make all dialysis providers out-of-network. The ruling is significant, as it potentially opens the door for other businesses to make similar changes to their health coverage, which could result in workers who have kidney failure dropping their private plans and jumping onto Medicare. (Herman, 6/21)
In other Supreme Court news —
AP:
Supreme Court Rejects Bayer's Bid To Stop Roundup Lawsuits
The Supreme Court has rejected Bayer’s appeal to shut down thousands of lawsuits claiming that its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer. The justices on Tuesday left in place a $25 million judgment in favor of Edwin Hardeman, a California man who says he developed cancer from using Roundup for decades to treat poison oak, overgrowth and weeds on his San Francisco Bay Area property. Hardeman’s lawsuit had served as a test case for thousands of similar lawsuits. (Sherman, 6/21)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Supreme Court Rejects Appeal Of Bay Area Weedkiller Verdict, A Case That Launched Thousands Of Lawsuits Nationwide
Although the Environmental Protection Agency has approved glyphosate products as safe since 1991, the EPA has now proposed allowing California to place a cancer-warning label on Roundup sold in the state, as long as the label also notes the EPA’s own safety findings. The International Agency for Research on Cancer, an arm of the World Health Organization, classified glyphosate as a likely cause of human cancer in 2015, and California health officials sought to attach a warning label in 2018 but were blocked by a federal judge. Bayer has announced that it is replacing glyphosate with another active ingredient in Roundup sales for U.S. home and garden use, starting next year, while continuing to sell the current version of the product for agricultural use. (Egelko, 6/21)
Also —
USA Today:
Supreme Court Justices Should Be Bound By Ethics Code, US Judges Say
Hundreds of judges across the United States said U.S. Supreme Court justices should be bound by a code of ethics – and many said they were shocked to find out that wasn't already the case. The National Judicial College surveyed judges across the nation on whether the Supreme Court should be held to a higher standard. The survey came amid a contentious and high-profile U.S. Supreme Court calendar that has involved questions of bias, as well as investigations into Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' family ties to the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. (Abdollah, 6/22)
