Filed: Dec. 07, 2007
Latest Update: Feb. 21, 2020
Summary: IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED December 7, 2007 No. 07-20016 Charles R. Fulbruge III Clerk QUALITY INFUSION CARE INC Plaintiff - Appellant v. AETNA LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY INC Defendant - Appellee Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. 4:05-CV-2929 Before Reavley, Smith, and Garza, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* Plaintiff-Appellant Quality Infusion Care, Inc. brought sui
Summary: IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED December 7, 2007 No. 07-20016 Charles R. Fulbruge III Clerk QUALITY INFUSION CARE INC Plaintiff - Appellant v. AETNA LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY INC Defendant - Appellee Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. 4:05-CV-2929 Before Reavley, Smith, and Garza, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* Plaintiff-Appellant Quality Infusion Care, Inc. brought suit..
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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
December 7, 2007
No. 07-20016 Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
QUALITY INFUSION CARE INC
Plaintiff - Appellant
v.
AETNA LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY INC
Defendant - Appellee
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
USDC No. 4:05-CV-2929
Before Reavley, Smith, and Garza, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Plaintiff-Appellant Quality Infusion Care, Inc. brought suit under the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”), 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq.
against Aetna Life Ins. Co. Quality contends that Aetna wrongfully denied
claims for benefits related to services performed by Quality for R.A., who was
indisputably covered under the employee welfare benefits plan funded by a
*
Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.
R. 47.5.4.
No. 07-20016
group insurance policy issued by Aetna.1 Quality appeals the district court’s
grant of summary judgment to Aetna. For the following reasons, we affirm the
district court’s judgment.
1. We review the district court’s grant of summary judgment de novo.
Texas Indus., Inc. v. Factory Mut. Ins. Co.,
486 F.3d 844, 846 (5th
Cir. 2007). Summary judgment is appropriate if the record shows
“that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the
moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” FED. R.
CIV. P. 56(c).
2. Quality alleges that summary judgment to Aetna is improper
because Aetna ignored medical information submitted by Quality
and because Aetna’s reviewing nurses and physicians were not
qualified to determine whether treatment Quality provided to R.A.
was medically necessary.
Quality’s arguments fail. Aetna did not ignore the medical
information submitted by Quality. It merely relied on its pre-
published clinical policy specifying when intravenous
immunoglobulin (“IVIG”) treatments are considered medically
necessary and determined that the criteria was not met. We have
held that an insurer’s reliance on a pre-published plan to determine
what is “medically necessary” can be reasonable under ERISA.
Dowden v. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Texas, Inc.,
126 F.3d 641,
644 (5th Cir. 1997). And, contrary to Quality’s contention, Aetna
accurately followed its pre-published policy, Aetna Clinical Policy
Bulletin 206 (“CPB 206”), when denying Quality’s request that it
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R.A. assigned his rights, benefits, and claims under the plan to Quality, including the
right to receive payments for benefits. Aetna does not challenge Quality’s status as a valid
assignee.
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No. 07-20016
cover the IVIG services provided to R.A. CPB 206 plainly precludes
coverage for R.A.’s treatments, so we find no merit to Quality’s
contention that Aetna’s reviewers were unqualified to make this
determination. Because Quality does not argue that CPB 206’s
requirements are improper, there is no basis to hold that Aetna
wrongfully denied coverage for Quality’s services.
AFFIRMED.
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