Inside ERISA Denials: Why Employers May Be the Real Decision-Makers Behind Your Insurance Card

Insurance denials aren’t new, but they’re hitting a breaking point right now. As prior authorizations surge and patients face longer delays for everything from imaging to specialty drugs, more providers are realizing that the “payer” on the card often isn’t the one truly holding the reins. A growing share of Americans are covered through self-funded employer plans governed by ERISA, which shifts timelines, appeal rights, and legal accountability away from state rules and toward federal standards—raising the stakes for patients, hospitals, and employers alike.

So here’s the core question this episode tackles: when a denial happens, who actually has the power to fix it—and how do patients and providers use that leverage?

In this episode of PayerWatch, host Brian McGraw sits down with Ann Lewandowski, Founder of Healthcare Rebel Alliance, to unpack the hidden mechanics of denials inside employer-sponsored plans. Together they explore how ERISA changes the denial game, why plan documents are the real rulebook, and what a more proactive employer oversight model could mean for reversing unfair decisions.

Key points from the conversation:

• Denials fall into three buckets—and knowing which one you’re fighting matters. Ann breaks denials down into non-covered benefits, “insufficient information” administrative denials, and medical necessity denials tied to criteria like step therapy. Each requires a different fix and a different appeal strategy.

• If the plan is ERISA-regulated, state insurance rules don’t apply. Many people assume their state Department of Insurance protections cover them, but employer plans route through ERISA’s federal framework, including different timelines (often 15 days) and legal pathways.

• Plan documents are the ultimate authority—and employers have fiduciary risk. Ann explains that summary plan descriptions and full plan documents control coverage, even over PBM formularies. She highlights emerging legal pressure on plan administrators and employers to act in members’ best interests, especially in self-funded settings.

Ann Lewandowski is the founder of Healthcare Rebel Alliance and an experienced healthcare utilization management professional with a background spanning population health, public health, and quality auditing. She began her healthcare career early through family involvement in small healthcare organizations, later moving into population health work at the California Department of Public Health starting in 2008. After transitioning into utilization management, she served as a Utilization Management Quality Auditor at Affinity Medical Solutions, where she reviewed denials and directly communicated prior-authorization decisions to patients and providers. In 2024, Ann took a public stand by suing her former employer for breach of fiduciary duty under its health plan—an experience that helped catalyze her rebrand and mission to empower patients, providers, and employers to push back against unjust denials.