Blue Cross Blue Shield settlement to start payouts from $2.67 billion class-action suit

A $2.67 billion class-action lawsuit involving Blue Cross Blue Shield is set to start sending payments this spring, more than five years after it initially was settled.

The settlement, which was reached in October 2020, covers some current and former Blue Cross Blue Shield subscribers, including Connecticut residents. Approximately 6 million people filed claims, according to court documents.

More than 30 Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance plans first were sued in 2013, alleging that the health insurance network had violated antitrust laws by agreeing not to compete in selling insurance nationwide, among other uncompetitive practices. The company has denied all wrongdoing.

Members of the settlement class eligible for payouts include those who were enrolled in a Blue Cross Blue Shield individual or group insurance plan between Feb. 7, 2008, and Oct. 16, 2020; or enrolled in a self-funded account between Sept. 1, 2015, and Oct. 16, 2020, according to the settlement website. Dependents and beneficiaries on the plans were not eligible to receive payments.

It is too late to file a claim to receive payment; the deadline for filing a claim was Nov. 5, 2021.

But payments for the millions of claims that were submitted have been delayed for more than half a decade, as various appeals have wound their way through the courts, before finally being resolved in 2024. Settlement administrators also had to review each claim and assess whether they were valid.

Now, payments will start to be sent out in May 2026, according to the settlement website. Claim determination notices — which indicate whether a claim was accepted or rejected — are being sent out by email and mail, according to an email from the settlement administrator obtained by CT Insider.

While the total settlement fund was $2.67 billion, the amount available to claimants will be closer to $2 billion, as the plaintiffs' attorneys will be paid approximately $667 million in fees and expenses, according to court documents.

The settlement administrators have not released an estimate of how much each payout will be, and the amount almost certainly will vary. According to the settlement administrator's email, the payout amounts depend on factors including "the number of valid claims that are filed, the premiums you paid to one or more of the Settling Defendants during the class period, and whether your insurance was fully insured or self-funded."

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