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By Mike Scarcella
(Reuters) -Insurer Blue Cross Blue Defend has agreed to pay $2.8 billion to resolve antitrust class motion claims by hospital methods, physicians and different well being suppliers alleging they have been underpaid for reimbursements, the plaintiffs stated in an Alabama federal court docket submitting on Monday.
The settlement is the biggest ever for a healthcare antitrust case, they added.
Blue Cross Blue Defend denied the allegations in an announcement, however stated it agreed to the settlement and make operational adjustments to “put years of litigation behind us.”
The suppliers’ lead attorneys, Joe Whatley and Edith Kallas, stated in an announcement the proposed settlement would “rework” the BlueCard program by means of which suppliers submit claims.
The settlement is topic to approval from U.S. District Decide R. David Proctor.
The well being suppliers first sued in 2012, claiming Blue Cross and its associates divided the nation into unique areas the place they didn’t compete with one another. The lawsuit stated the nationwide conspiracy elevated the price of insurance coverage and drove down reimbursements.
Below the settlement, Blue Cross will create a system-wide info platform facilitating member advantages, eligibility verification and claims monitoring that the attorneys stated would result in extra transparency, effectivity and accountability.
The settlement may even give suppliers extra contracting alternatives with Blue Cross.
Blue Cross will spend a whole lot of thousands and thousands of {dollars} implementing the non-monetary a part of the settlement, the submitting stated.
The settlement covers U.S. healthcare service suppliers, together with hospitals and a few medical doctors, with Blue plan sufferers between July 2008 and October 2024.
The legal professionals stated they’d ask for as much as $700 million in authorized charges from Blue Cross.
Blue Cross agreed in 2020 to pay $2.7 billion to resolve associated antitrust claims from industrial and particular person subscribers. The U.S. Supreme Court docket upheld that deal in June.
(Reporting by Mike ScarcellaEditing by David Bario and Richard Chang)
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