Doctors v Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, Humana and UnitedHealthcare
Physicians' Class Action Lawsuit to Proceed
A class-action lawsuit involving more than 2,200 physicians will be allowed to proceed after a judge denied three insurance companies' request for arbitration.
The doctor groups filed suit against Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, Humana and UnitedHealthcare. The suit claimed the three insurers were violating antitrust laws by conspiring to fix prices and refusing to negotiate reasonable reimbursements.
Most the doctors' contracts with the insurers included clauses sending disagreements to a third-party arbitrator, which the insurance companies demanded and a special master in the case recommended.
Circuit Judge Charles E. Atwell supported the doctors' opposition to arbitration.
"This court believes that the unique facts to this particular litigation creates a factual perfect storm that makes these contracts unconscionable and against the public policy," Atwell wrote in his ruling. "To enforce these arbitration agreements would grant immunity to these defendants regarding any kind of claim touching upon conspiracy or relief as part of a class action.
The lawsuit represents physicians in the Kansas City, Missouri area who claimed the three insurers were violating antitrust laws by conspiring to fix prices and refusing to negotiate reasonable reimbursements.
