The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced in January it would stay the April 1, 2018 date in which employee benefit plans must comply with the final rule on disability claims. This rule will give America’s workers new procedural protections when dealing with plan fiduciaries and insurance providers who deny their claims for disability benefits.
The new rule ensures, for example, that disability claimants receive a clear explanation of why their claim was denied as well as their rights to appeal a denial of a benefit claim, and to review and respond to new information developed by the plan during the course of an appeal. The rule also requires that a claims adjudicator could not be hired, promoted, terminated, or compensated based on the likelihood of denying claims.
The final rule will apply to all claims submitted on or after April 1, 2018.
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