United States: A New Type Of ERISA-Based Hold-Up—The Rise Of Out-Of-Network Provider Suits Against Self-Funded Health Care Plans

Over the past decade, there has been a significant increase in the number of physicians who have dropped out of Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) and Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) networks and attempted to negotiate their own financial reimbursement with insurance companies and self-funded health care plans related to medical treatment provided to participants whose plan are governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA).

These moves have led to a […]

By | December 5th, 2014 ||

United States: Miami-Dade County Expands Its Human Rights Law To Ban Discrimination On The Basis Of Gender Identity And Gender Expression

On December 2, 2014, Miami-Dade County Commission amended the County’s Human Rights Ordinance (Chapter 11A of the Code of Ordinances of Miami Dade County, Florida) to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and expression.

The new law defines “gender identity” as “a person’s innate, deeply felt psychological identification as a man, woman or some other gender, which may or may not correspond to the sex assigned to them at birth (e.g., the sex listed on […]

By | December 5th, 2014 ||

United States: DOL Issues Final Rule Implementing Executive Order 13672’s Prohibition On Discrimination Based On Sexual Orientation And Gender Identity

Yesterday, the Department of Labor announced a Final Rule prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity by federal contractors and subcontractors. The Rule, which implements Executive Order 13672 signed by President Obama in July 2014, will be effective 120 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register.

If, as anticipated, the Rule is published this Friday, the Rule will be effective April 4, 2015. Any contract entered into or modified after […]

By | December 5th, 2014 ||