David Bruce: Appeals delay claim payments of Blue Cross Blue Shield settlement

It's been two years since more than 35 Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance plans, including Highmark, reached a $2.67 billion settlement after they were sued over claims that they violated antitrust laws.

Yet people who filed claims still haven't received any money, and it's still not clear when they will.

The U.S. District Court overseeing the settlement of the class-action lawsuit granted final approval on Aug. 9. However, three employers — including Home Depot — have filed appeals because of objections to the settlement, according to Reuters and the settlement's official website: https://www.bcbssettlement.com.

Reasons for the objections were not stated in the appeals, according to court documents. Home Depot officials have said in the past that the settlement could prevent them from bringing future antitrust claims against Blue Cross Blue Shield, Reuters reported.

As a result, the settlement cannot become final, and benefits cannot be distributed until all appeals are resolved. There is no timeline for this to happen, according to the website.

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Attorneys representing the class action lawsuit have asked the court not "to delay any longer than is necessary the distribution of that compensation to tens of millions of class members because of appeals filed by a very small handful of objectors," according to Reuters.

The settlement came after the BC/BS plans were accused of illegally entering 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 Blue Cross Blue Shield Association is a national group of independent, community-based and locally operated health insurers.

Each insurer has its own territory. For example, Highmark's service area includes Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware, and parts of Ohio and New York state.

How much can you expect to receive?

So, how much money can you expect to get once everything is finally settled? About 6 million people filed claims by the Nov. 5, 2021 deadline, according to legal documents posted on the website.

No more than 25% of the fund is earmarked for attorney fees and administration costs, leaving about $2 billion. That is about $333 per claim.

In an earlier column, I incorrectly divided the amount by an estimated number of claimants.

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Though it's not known how long it will take for the court to handle the appeals, the average time of an appeals process for that particular court is between nine and 10 months, according to Reuters.

I will keep you posted on any further developments.

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 [email protected] or send mail to 205 W. 12th St., Erie, PA 16534.