Insurance Settlement
- Blue Cross is being sued for violated antitrust laws by entering into an agreement not to compete with each other and to limit competition among themselves in selling health insurance and administrative services for health insurance.
Settling Defendants deny all allegations of wrongdoing and assert that their conduct results in lower healthcare costs and greater access to care for their customers. The Court has not decided who is right or wrong. Instead, Plaintiffs and Settling Defendants have agreed to a Settlement to avoid the risk and cost of further litigation.
Check your Eligibility and File a Claim Here
Who is Eligible?
If you were covered by certain Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance or administrative services plans between February 2008 and October 2020, you may be a Class Member.
You may be eligible to receive payment if you are an Individual, Insured Group (and their employees) or Self-Funded Account (and their employees) that purchased or were enrolled in a Blue Cross or Blue Shield health insurance or administrative services plan during one of the two Settlement Class Periods. Government accounts are excluded from the Class.
The Settlement Class Period for Individuals and Insured Groups is from February 7, 2008, through October 16, 2020. The Settlement Class Period for Self-Funded Accounts is from September 1, 2015 through October 16, 2020. Dependents, beneficiaries (including minors), and non-employees are NOT eligible to receive payment.
All Individuals, Insured Groups, and Self-Funded Accounts that purchased or were enrolled in a Blue Cross or Blue Shield health insurance or administrative services plan during the applicable Class Period will also benefit from the parts of the Settlement requiring Settling Defendants to change certain of their practices that were alleged to be anticompetitive. Dependents, beneficiaries (including minors), and non-employees will benefit from this part of the Settlement.
How Much Will We Get?
The Net Settlement Fund is estimated to be approximately $1.9 billion. No good estimates are given for how much you’ll get when filing.
Important Dates
- February 7, 2008 through October 16, 2020 is the affected timeframe for Individuals and Insured Groups
- September 1, 2015 through October 16, 2020 is the affected timeframe for Self-Funded Account
- October 20, 2021 is the Fairness Hearing
- November 5, 2021 is the final date to file a claim
Final Thoughts
Lots of people use the various branches of Blue Cross insurance and will be eligible for this settlement. Easy process to file – they don’t force you to give exact dates and the like (though they ask for that if possible). Some people even got a postcard with a unique code to use, others got one with no unique code and have to use the regular filing process. Hopefully it ends up being a nice check whenever this all settles.
Hat tip to reader Davis
