Blanton v MedQuest Associates, Inc.
Georgians Accuse MedQuest Associates of Hurting Their Insurers Through Exclusive Deals With Doctors
A class action has been filed against biotechnology business MedQuest Associates, Inc. on behalf of Georgia patients who allege that the company makes exclusive deals with doctors to induce the doctors to refer their patients to MedQuest imaging centers in violation of state insurance law. The action seeks unspecified damages.
Named plaintiff Steven Blanton allegedly received care at a MedQuest imaging center in Hapeville, Georgia, in 2002. He alleges that MedQuest charged his physician's office $450 for his treatment, while the physician's office charged his insurer $950. The action alleges that the scheme was set up so that the doctor pocketed the difference as an inducement to refer other patients in the future. The arrangement is allegedly part of an exclusive deal MedQuest has with a number of physicians.
The action alleges that arrangements of this sort will ultimately cost patients in the form of higher medical insurance premiums since the insurance company is having to pay an artificially inflated price on behalf of its policyholders. MedQuest provides magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, nuclear medicine, fluoroscopy, x-ray, ultrasound, mammography and bone densitometry services to the medical industry.
In January 2003, MedQuest was called before Georgia's Composite State Board of Medical Examiners to respond to allegations that the company violated state patient referral laws through one of its physician agreements. No action has been taken to date.
