by Blue Cross Blue Shield payments to around 6 million people will go out for more than two years after the health insurer had reached a settlement of $ 2.67 billion with subscribers.
Notices of payments to claimants are emailed on a rolling basis, according to an update on the BCBS settlement website.
The settlement stems from a Class Action law case that claims that more than 35 BCBs have violated health insurance plans antitrust laws by not agreeing with each other, which limits competition in the health insurance market.
The defendants deny accusations of misconduct. “Instead, claimants and regulating defendants have agreed to a settlement to prevent the risk and costs of further lawsuits,” is the update on the settlement site.
Who gets a check?
Participants must have filed claims by November 5, 2021 to be eligible to receive a payment from the $ 2.67 billion settlement fund.
Subscribers that were covered between February 2008 and October 2020 by certain Blue Cross Blue Shield disease insurance or administrative service plans are potential class members.
The site does not indicate when notifications of payments are sent.
How are individual payments determined?
Individual payment amounts are determined on the basis of the number of valid claims that have been submitted, the premiums paid to one or more of the defendants during one of the two class periods, and whether the insurance was fully insured or financed themselves.
“The settlement class period for private individuals and insured groups is from 7 February 2008 to 16 October 2020,” said the website of the settlement website. “The settlement class period for self -financed accounts is from 1 September 2015 to 16 October 2020.”
If the total payment for a claimant is equal to or less than $ 5, the claimant will not receive a check.
After deduction of the costs of lawyers and administrative costs, the net settlement fund is worth around $ 1.9 billion, which will be divided over about 6 million claimants. On average, plaintiffs can expect checks of $ 333.
