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Full-Text Articles in Law

"Rfra Exemptions From The Contraception Mandate: An Unconstitutional Accommodation Of Religion", Frederick Mark Gedicks, Rebecca G. Van Tassell Sep 2013

"Rfra Exemptions From The Contraception Mandate: An Unconstitutional Accommodation Of Religion", Frederick Mark Gedicks, Rebecca G. Van Tassell

Frederick Mark Gedicks

Litigation surrounding use of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to exempt employers from the Affordable Care Act’s “contraception mandate” is moving steadily towards eventual resolution in the U.S. Supreme Court. Both opponents and supporters of the mandate, however, have overlooked Establishment Clause limits on such exemptions. The fiery religious-liberty rhetoric surrounding the mandate has obscured that RFRA is a “permissive” rather than “mandatory” accommodation of religion—that is, a voluntary government concession to religious belief and practice that is not required by the Free Exercise Clause. Permissive accommodations must satisfy Establishment Clause constraints, notably the requirement that the accommodation not impose …


It’S A Mistake: Insurer Cost Cutting, Insurer Liability And The Lack Of Erisa Preemption Within The Individual Exchanges, Christopher R. Smith Aug 2013

It’S A Mistake: Insurer Cost Cutting, Insurer Liability And The Lack Of Erisa Preemption Within The Individual Exchanges, Christopher R. Smith

Christopher R Smith

Within the new individual health insurance exchanges, ERISA preemption is inapplicable to State tort claims against individual exchange insurers, framing the question of whether or not individual exchange insurers, like employment-based insurers, should be protected from State tort liability. While there should be concern for an insurer’s ability to effectively manage costs and eliminate waste, beneficiaries should also have some sort of remedy against their insurer, when insurer cost cutting results in beneficiary harm. To balance the competing interests, a no-fault liability system should be adopted providing both limited liability for individual exchange insurers and preservation of injured beneficiaries’ remedies.


La Cassazione Sull'equiparazione Delle Polizze Unit Linked A Strumenti Finanziari, Valerio Sangiovanni Jun 2013

La Cassazione Sull'equiparazione Delle Polizze Unit Linked A Strumenti Finanziari, Valerio Sangiovanni

Valerio Sangiovanni

No abstract provided.


Waging War On Specialty Pharmaceutical Tiering In Pharmacy Benefit Design, Chad I. Brooker May 2013

Waging War On Specialty Pharmaceutical Tiering In Pharmacy Benefit Design, Chad I. Brooker

Chad I Brooker

Specialty drugs represent a growing concern for both health insurance issuers and beneficiaries given their exceedingly high (and growing) costs—representing almost half of all drug spend by 2017. Payers have sought to reduce their specialty drug spend by sharing more of the cost of these drugs with the beneficiaries who depend on them through the creation of specialty drug tiers. This has forced some patients to choose between forgoing other needs to pay for their medications or not take them at all. While several states have sought to outlaw the use of specialty drug tiers or limit pharmaceutical OOP cost-sharing, …


Crop Insurance Bad Faith: Protection For America's Farmers, Chad G. Marzen Jan 2013

Crop Insurance Bad Faith: Protection For America's Farmers, Chad G. Marzen

Chad G. Marzen

This article examines issues concerning the potential liability of crop insurers for insurance bad faith, and discusses cases to date on the issue of federal preemption of insurance bad faith claims under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (FCIA) and the development of a general rule that bad faith claims under state law are not preempted by the FCIA. The article argues that the crop insurance bad faith remedy is designed as a check against egregious, intentional and reckless misconduct of a crop insurer in the handling of a claim and should be preserved by the courts.


The Merrill Doctrine And Federally Reinsured Crop Insurers, Chad G. Marzen Jan 2013

The Merrill Doctrine And Federally Reinsured Crop Insurers, Chad G. Marzen

Chad G. Marzen

Since 1947, the Federal Crop Ins. Corp. v. Merrill decision has operated to bar claims of equitable estoppel against agents of the federal government. However, the applicability of the Merrill doctrine to insurers is unclear. There is a split of authority on this significant issue and it remains largely unresolved in numerous jurisdictions. An early trend developed where the courts applied the Merrill doctrine to alleged misrepresentations of agents of the FCIC as well as the agents of private insurers. In the early to mid 2000s, the decisions of three state courts (in Kentucky, Georgia and Tennessee) declined toe extend …