United States Ninth Circuit

In a suit brought by a hospital against defendant alleging that it had provided services to a patient insured by defendant's health care plan but that defendant did not reimburse it according to the terms of their contract, dismissal of the action is reversed as plaintiff's claims were not preempted by the Federal Employee Health Benefits Act (FEHBA) and, consequently, it was not required to exhaust its administrative remedies.

Appellate Information

• Argued 04/11/2007
• Decided 08/10/2007
• Published 08/10/2007

Judges

• PREGERSON, Circuit Judge:, Before:  HARRY PREGERSON, Circuit Judge, FERDINAND F. FERNANDEZ, and EUGENE E. SILER, JR., Senior Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Leo Luevanos (brief) and Barry Sullivan (argued), Law Offices of Stephenson, Acquisto & Colman, Burbank, CA, for the plaintiff-appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Robert C. Bohner (brief) and Michael L. Flowers (argued), Sedgwich, Detert, Moran & Arnold, LLP, Los Angeles, CA, for the defendant-appellee.