St. Peter's University Hospital v. New Jersey Building Laborers Statewide Welfare Fund

The opinion of the court was delivered by

AXELRAD, P.J.A.D.

In these consolidated appeals, we decide whether the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 29 U.S.C.A § 1001 to - 1461, preempts a medical provider’s claims against the ERISA benefit plan for payment of the provider’s customary fees for the services it rendered to patients rather than the discounted fees the plan would have been legally entitled to pay had it not breached its contractual obligation for timely payment. We are satisfied the provider’s claims are expressly preempted by Section 514(a) of ERISA, 29 U.S.C.A §…