A status conference on the consolidated antitrust lawsuits against the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and its licensees took place Thursday in Birmingham.
As I reported in December, the antitrust class-action cases filed by businesses and others are being consolidated in the Northern District of Alabama. Seven of the cases originated in Alabama, which a recent study claimed has the nation’s least competitive health insurance market.
Plaintiffs in the case argue the BCBS Association and its licensees, includingBlue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, have divided and allocated health insurance markets across the country among themselves to eliminate competition, according to a court filing.
All of the suits allege the trade association’s license agreements with its 38 providers, which bar them from selling Blue Cross insurance in each others’ territories, violate federal antitrust laws resulting in diminished competition and higher insurance premiums.
A representative for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama was not immediately available to comment for this story, but previously told the BBJ that the suit lacked merit and noted that the insurer has the fifth-lowest family premiums in the nation among all employers.
Reuters reports that three more lawsuits in the antitrust case against BCBS were filed earlier this month, bringing the count to at least 27.