Blue Cross Blue Shield will soon begin sending out payments from a $2.67 billion class action settlement that resolves claims the insurer group restricted competition in the health insurance market. The first blue cross antitrust settlement payments are expected to start going out this month.
The litigation began in 2013, when plaintiffs filed a class action lawsuit against more than 35 Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance plans. They said the companies’ business practices reduced competition, helped push up premiums and left consumers with fewer choices. Blue Cross Blue Shield denied those allegations, and the court did not issue a final ruling on the merits before the parties agreed to settle.
About $1.9 billion remains available for distribution to eligible class members after attorneys’ fees, administrative costs and other expenses are deducted from the settlement fund. People and insured groups with coverage between Feb. 7, 2008, and Oct. 16, 2020, and self-funded accounts with coverage between Sept. 1, 2015, and Oct. 16, 2020, are covered by the agreement if they filed a valid claim by Nov. 5, 2021. Those who missed that deadline are not eligible for compensation.
Eligible class members will receive notice of their payment status, and the average payment is expected to be around $333, though amounts will vary depending on the type and duration of coverage. Roughly six million claims were submitted in the case, which is formally known as In re: Blue Cross Blue Shield Antitrust Litigation, MDL 2406, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
The settlement closes a long-running fight over how the Blue Cross Blue Shield system operated inside the health insurance market, but it does so without a court ruling that either side won on the underlying antitrust claims. What comes next for claimants is simpler: check the notice, wait for the payment status, and see how much of the fund reaches them after years of litigation.