Epstein Becker Green Obtains Dismissal of Claims Seeking to Limit Health Plan Access to Information

Epstein Becker Green obtained a dismissal of a case brought by two plaintiffs—a state psychological association and an individual psychologist—seeking broad limitations, through the application of the patient-psychologist privilege, on the information that a health benefits plan could seek from or concerning insureds to establish the medical necessity of initial or continued mental health treatment. The New Jersey court found that neither plaintiff had a direct injury or associational or third-party standing and questions of privilege needed to be determined in the sort of case-by-case approach that precluded the granting of broad, general relief against the health benefits plan or those providing administrative or utilization management review services to the plan.