830
Opinion of the Court
perceived "no reason why the treating physician rule should not be used under ERISA in order to test the reasonableness of the [plan] administrator's positions." Ibid. The United States urges that the Court of Appeals "erred in equating the two [statutory regimes]." Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae 23. We agree.3
"ERISA was enacted to promote the interests of employees and their beneficiaries in employee benefit plans, and to protect contractually defined benefits." Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. v. Bruch, 489 U. S. 101, 113 (1989) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). The Act furthers these aims in part by regulating the manner in which plans process benefits claims. Plans must "provide adequate notice in writing to any participant or beneficiary whose claim for benefits under the plan has been denied, setting forth the specific reasons for such denial, written in a manner calculated to be understood by the participant." 29 U. S. C. § 1133(1). ERISA further requires that plan procedures "afford a rea-3 The treating physician rule has not attracted universal adherence outside the Social Security context. Some courts have approved a rule similar to the Social Security Commissioner's for disability determinations under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, 33 U. S. C. § 901 et seq., see, e. g., Pietrunti v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, 119 F. 3d 1035, 1042 (CA2 1997), and the Secretary of Labor has adopted a version of the rule for benefit determinations under the Black Lung Benefits Act, 30 U. S. C. § 901 et seq., see 20 CFR § 718.104(d)(5) (2002). One Court of Appeals, however, has rejected a treating physician rule for the assessment of claims of entitlement to veterans' benefits for service-connected disabilities, see White v. Principi, 243 F. 3d 1378, 1381 (CA Fed. 2001), and another has rejected such a rule for disability determinations under the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974, 45 U. S. C. § 231 et seq., see Dray v. Railroad Retirement Bd., 10 F. 3d 1306, 1311 (CA7 1993). Furthermore, there appears to be no uniform practice regarding application of a treating physician rule under state workers' compensation statutes. See Conradt v. Mt. Carmel School, 197 Wis. 2d 60, 69, 539 N. W. 2d 713, 717 (Ct. App. 1995) ("Conradt misrepresents the state of the law when she claims that a majority of states have adopted the 'treating physician rule.' ").
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