Hospital pension case to be heard before U.S. Supreme Court
The nation’s highest court has agreed to take up three cases where employees of religious-affiliated hospital systems say funding and reporting requirements for pensions should be enforced.
Reuters reports the three systems—St. Peter's Healthcare System in New Jersey, Advocate Health System in Illinois and Dignity Health in California—have lost at the federal appeals level over claiming a religious exemption from parts of Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
According to the lawsuit, the hospitals could be underfunding their pension systems, up to $1.2 billion in Dignity’s case, but with the reporting exemption, the actual liability may be hidden.
The defendants say if they’re forced to pay retroactive penalties, it could add up to billions of dollars and affect their ability to provide care.
For more on why lower courts rejected the hospitals’ argument for dismissing the suits, click on the link below:
John joined TriMed in 2016, focusing on healthcare policy and regulation. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, he worked at FM News Chicago and Rivet News Radio, and worked on the state government and politics beat for the Illinois Radio Network. Outside of work, you may find him adding to his never-ending graphic novel collection.