- Blue Cross Blue Shield will distribute $2.67 billion to about 6 million subscribers following a 2013 antitrust lawsuit.
- The lawsuit alleged that BC/BS plans illegally agreed not to compete with each other, thereby restricting competition.
- Each claimant can expect to receive about $333, after $667 million in legal fees are deducted from the settlement.
Two-and-a-half years after Blue Cross Blue Shield reached a $2.67 billion settlement with its subscribers, funds finally are expected to be distributed to about six million people.
Perhaps.
An update on the settlement’s website stated that “claim determination notices are being emailed on a rolling basis.” A check of my own claim showed that it is currently “in review.”
No date was given for when all notices would be sent.
The settlement ended litigation that began in 2013 when a class-action antitrust lawsuit was filed against more than 35 Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance plans, including Highmark.
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The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association is a national group of independent, community-based and locally operated health insurers. Each insurer has its own territory. For example, Highmark’s service area includes Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware, and parts of Ohio and New York state.
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Why was a lawsuit filed against Blue Cross Blue Shield plans?
The lawsuit claimed the BC/BS plans illegally entered into an agreement not to compete with each other, and to restrict competition among themselves.
The planned distribution comes after the U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal from a settlement class member, David Behenna, who had objected that the amount set aside for legal fees and attorneys’ costs — $667 million — was too high.
Attorneys for Home Depot had also filed a challenge to the settlement, telling justices that the terms were too sweeping and will harm the ability of future private parties to sue Blue Cross Blue Shield over violations of competition law, Reuters reported.
The Supreme Court’s denial resolved all appeals, according to the settlement website.
How much money can you expect to receive from the settlement?
About six million people filed claims by the November 2021 deadline. As a result, they can expect to receive about $333 per claim.
This isn’t the only large-scale settlement Blue Cross Blue Shield has reached in recent months. It also has agreed to pay $2.8 billion to providers, including health systems and physicians.
The providers had claimed in a class-action lawsuit filed in 2012 that Blue Cross Blue Shield plans conspired not to compete with each other in an effort to control the amount of money they paid hospitals and physicians for their services.
HERE to HELP: Have a consumer question you’d like us to help you with? Leave a message with David Bruce at 870-1736, send an email to [email protected] or send mail to 205 W. 12th St., Erie, PA 16534.
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