Marietta Memorial Hospital Employee Health Benefit Plan v. DaVita Inc.

**Hospital Insurance Plan Wins Dialysis Coverage Dispute** This case involved a disagreement over how health insurance should cover dialysis treatment for kidney disease patients. DaVita, a dialysis provider, sued Marietta Memorial Hospital's employee health plan, claiming the plan illegally discriminated against workers with end-stage kidney disease. The issue centered on whether the hospital's insurance plan violated federal Medicare rules by providing limited coverage for outpatient dialysis treatments. The Supreme Court sided with the hospital's health plan in June 2022. The Court ruled that the plan's dialysis coverage was legal because it applied the same limited benefits to all employees equally, regardless of whether they had kidney disease. Since the coverage rules were uniform for everyone in the plan, the Court found no discrimination based on kidney disease status. This decision matters for workers because it clarifies that employers can offer limited coverage for expensive treatments like dialysis, as long as the same limits apply to all employees. However, it also means that workers with costly medical conditions cannot automatically expect enhanced coverage beyond what the plan offers to everyone else. Employees should carefully review their health benefits to understand coverage limitations for specialized treatments.