The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association Settles Class Action
CHICAGO (April 27, 2007) — Today, The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), along with 23 of its affiliated health care plans representing 52 million members in the United States, announced an agreement with a nationwide class of approximately 900,000 physicians. In 2003, the class sued all the Blue Plans in a RICO conspiracy complaint in Miami, Florida.
McDermott Will & Emery represented 13 of the settling Plans, including the largest such plan, Health Care Services Corporation. As part of the settlement, the Plans agreed to some business changes and to make future investments in their infrastructure, which will make communication with physicians quicker and the Plans’ payment policies more transparent. Approximately $128 million will be paid to a fund to settle physicians’ claims, with an additional amount, capped at $49 million, to be paid by the defendants for legal fees.
Chicago trial partner Michael A. Pope acted as lead counsel for the defendants. He was assisted by Chicago partners Marie Halpin and Chris Murphy; Washington, D.C. health partner Joel Michaels; Miami partner Steven Siff and Miami associate Michael Austin.
McDermott's Class Action Practice Group has extensive experience in the defense of a wide variety of class action lawsuits in state and federal courts throughout the United States. Our lawyers have successfully obtained pre-certification dismissals and summary judgments, conducted class discovery, defeated class certification and obtained de-certification of classes in cases of both local and national scope. We have practiced before the Multi-District Panel, and have served as lead defense counsel in class action hearings in federal multi-district litigation, where we have briefed and argued important issues of first impression with respect to class action practice and procedure.
