Consumer Appeal Rights Enforcement Act

Key Points

• The bill lets the Labor Department fine employer health and retirement plans that break claims and appeals rules, whether the failure affects the whole plan or a single worker's case.
• Plan-wide failures can be fined up to $1,000 per participant per year, and fines can triple if the problem isn't fixed within 90 days of a warning notice.
• Individual mistakes, like missing a deadline to respond to one person's appeal, can be fined up to $1,000 per day until fixed.
• Urgent medical claims get a much shorter grace period, just 3 days, before daily fines can be tripled to $3,000.
• The bill also repeals an existing ERISA enforcement limit, expanding the Labor Department's direct authority to go after violators.