Cite as: 538 U. S. 822 (2003)
Opinion of the Court
treating physician rule should govern ERISA cases). Concluding that courts have no warrant to order application of a treating physician rule to employee benefit claims made under ERISA, we vacate the Ninth Circuit's judgment and remand the case for further proceedings.2
II
The treating physician rule at issue here was originally developed by Courts of Appeals as a means to control disability determinations by administrative law judges under the Social Security Act, 49 Stat. 620, 42 U. S. C. § 231 et seq. See Maccaro, The Treating Physician Rule and the Adjudication of Claims for Social Security Disability Benefits, 41 Soc. Sec. Rep. Serv. 833, 833-834 (1993). In 1991, the Commissioner of Social Security adopted regulations approving and formalizing use of the rule in the Social Security disability program. See 56 Fed. Reg. 36961, 36968 (codified at 20 CFR §§ 404.1527(d)(2), 416.927(d)(2) (2002)). The Social Security Administration, the regulations inform, will generally "give more weight to opinions from . . . treating sources," and "will always give good reasons in our notice of determination or decision for the weight we give your treating source's opinion." §§ 404.1527(d)(2), 416.927(d)(2).
Concluding that a treating physician rule should similarly govern private benefit plans under ERISA, the Ninth Circuit said in Regula that its "reasons ha[d] to do with common sense as well as consistency in [judicial] review of disability determinations where benefits are protected by federal law." 266 F. 3d, at 1139. "Just as in the Social Security context," the court observed, "the disputed issue in ERISA disability determinations concerns whether the facts of the beneficiary's case entitle him to benefits." Ibid. The Ninth Circuit
2 The Plan sought review only of the Court of Appeals' holding "that an ERISA disability plan administrator's determination of disability is subject to the 'treating physician rule.' " Pet. for Cert. i. We express no opinion on any other issues.
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