The court of appeals affirmed a judgment of the district court, reversed in part and remanded. The court held that the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act preempts Montana’s “little HIPPA” law for purposes of conferring federal jurisdiction and defeating state law causes of action on the merits.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana provided health insurance coverage for the employees of Fossen Brothers Farms through a group policy. Following a premium increase, the Fossens learned that Blue Cross was imposing different increases (and even decreases in some cases) on other plan members. They responded with a complaint in Montana state court alleging that the 40% premium increase imposed was improperly discriminatory and violated a provision of Montana’s “little HIPPA” statute, a provision of Montana’s Unfair Trade Practices Act, and constituted a breach of their contract with Blue Cross.
