Notable ERISA Rulings From November

C.P. et al. v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois,Case Number 23-4331, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

In C.P., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned a grant of summary judgment in a class action in favor of transgender employee health plan participants who claimed that the insurance giant's denials of coverage for gender-affirming care discriminated against them. On appeal, a three-judge panel vacated and remanded the December 2023 ruling against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, which had established gender-affirming care exclusions in self-funded employer-provided health plans that it administered. The panel pointed to the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in U.S. v. Skrmetti, in which the high Court upheld a ban on gender-affirming care for minors in Tennessee. Based on that ruling, the panel reasoned, the district court should revisit its ruling.