Courts Differ on Healthcare Reform

By Mark L. Mattioli, Esq. of Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin, P.C.

Yesterday, two separate courts of appeals rendered contrary decisions on whether the subsidy provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) applies in states that have opted not to run their own insurance exchanges. Cur¬rently, only 14 states have established their own exchanges, while 36 states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, have opted to allow the federal government to run the exchange.

Notification Requirements Following Unauthorized Disclosure of Computerized Data Stored by Insurers

In a recent new bulletin, the California Insurance Commissioner addressed the issue of notice requirements after a breach of security information or improper disclosure of personal information by insurers, insurance producers, and other interested persons.

In National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA v. Coinstar, Inc. (W.D. Wash., No. C13-1014-JCC, Aug. 7, 2014), the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington ruled that National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA had no duty to defend Redbox Automated Retail, LLC (Redbox), a Coinstar, Inc. subsidiary, in two separate class action suits alleging that Redbox violated its customers' privacy.  Notably, the first class action suit, Cain v. Redbox, alleged that Redbox violated Michigan's Video Rental Privacy Act by sending to third parties customer information, without the customers' consent, gathered when a customer rented a movie from a Redbox kiosk.  The second class action suit, Mehrens v. Redbox, alleged that Redbox violated California's Song-Beverly Credit Card Act by requiring customers to provide their billing ZIP code and/or email.