394
Thomas, J., dissenting
ERISA's enforcement scheme remains paramount. "Congress intended § 502(a) to be the exclusive remedy for rights guaranteed under ERISA." Ingersoll-Rand Co., supra, at 144. In accordance with ordinary principles of conflict preemption, therefore, even a state law "regulating insurance" will be pre-empted if it provides a separate vehicle to assert a claim for benefits outside of, or in addition to, ERISA's remedial scheme. See, e. g., Pilot Life, supra, at 54 (citing Russell, supra, at 146); Harris Trust, supra, at 99 (citing Silkwood, supra, at 248).
III
The question for the Court, therefore, is whether § 4-10 provides such a vehicle. Without question, Moran had a "panoply of remedial devices," Russell, supra, at 146, available under § 502 of ERISA when petitioner denied her claim for benefits.5 Section 502(a)(1)(B) of ERISA provided the most obvious remedy: a civil suit to recover benefits due under the terms of the plan. 29 U. S. C. § 1132(a)(1)(B). But rather than bring such a suit, Moran sought to have her right to benefits determined outside of ERISA's remedial scheme through the arbitral-like mechanism available under § 4-10.
Section 4-10 cannot be characterized as anything other than an alternative state-law remedy or vehicle for seeking benefits. In the first place, § 4-10 comes into play only if the HMO and the claimant dispute the claimant's entitlement to benefits; the purpose of the review is to determine whether a claimant is entitled to benefits. Contrary to the majority's characterization of § 4-10 as nothing more than a state law
5 Commonly included in the panoply constituting part of this enforcement scheme are: suits under § 502(a)(1)(B) (authorizing an action to recover benefits, obtain a declaratory judgment that one is entitled to benefits, and to enjoin an improper refusal to pay benefits); suits under §§ 502(a)(2) and 409 (authorizing suit to seek removal of the fiduciary); and a claim for attorney's fees under § 502(g). See Russell, 473 U. S., at 146- 147; Pilot Life Ins. Co. v. Dedeaux, 481 U. S. 41, 53 (1987).
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