Court briefs could delay Blue Cross Blue Shield settlement payments
Two court briefs filed March 24, including one from Home Depot, could further delay payments from the $2.67 billion Blue Cross Blue Shield settlement.
They could even scuttle the agreement, though that is not likely.
It's just the latest development in the settlement, which was reached in October 2020 in U.S. District Court in Alabama after more than 35 Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance plans, including Highmark, were sued for violating antitrust laws. Details can be found on bcbssettlement.com, the settlement's official website.
More: David Bruce: Appeals delay claim payments of Blue Cross Blue Shield settlement
Attorneys for Home Depot and two other employers affected by the settlement have appealed the court's decision to approve it. They filed the recent court briefs for different reasons, according to a story published by Law360.com, a website that covers litigation and other areas of law.
Home Depot is concerned the agreement will prevent national employers who chose not to participate in the settlement from filing similar claims in the future. In a combined brief, the other two employers said the court failed to adequately scrutinize the settlement's allocations among plaintiffs, Law360.com reported.
The settlement ended litigation that began in 2013 when a class-action lawsuit was filed. It claimed that the BC/BS plans illegally entered into an agreement not to compete with each other, and to restrict competition among themselves.
As part of the settlement, the plans deny all allegations of wrongdoing. The settlement's website said there is currently no timeline for the resolution of the appeals.
More: David Bruce: Blue Cross Blue Shield settlement email is legitimate
In another settlement-related court filing, a group of the plaintiff's lawyers asked the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in February to uphold the agreement after a small group of individual class members objected to an award of $667 million in legal fees and expenses, Reuters reported.
The class members called the fee award "excessive," while the judge who approved it as part of the settlement said it was justified because the law firms faced significant risk that they would not recover any amount in litigation. It also fell below the 25% mark noted by the plaintiff's attorneys as "presumptively reasonable" under the court's precedents.
No further details were available.
About six million people, including many in northwestern Pennsylvania, filed claims by the Nov. 5, 2021 deadline. As a result, they can expect to receive about $333 per claim, if the legal fees remain at $667 million and the appeals are rejected.
The question remains, when will they see a check? Probably not in the near future.
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 david.bruce@timesnews.com or send mail to 205 W. 12th St., Erie, PA 16534.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Blue Cross Blue Shield settlement possibly delayed by court filings
