Frier Levitt partner Guillermo Beades is featured in MedCity News in the article, “A Judge Approved BCBS’ $2.8B Settlement. Why Some Providers Are Opting Out.”
The piece covers a federal judge’s approval of Blue Cross Blue Shield’s $2.8 billion settlement with providers, resolving a lawsuit filed in 2012 alleging that BCBS and its affiliates underpaid hospitals and physicians. While the settlement, the largest ever in a healthcare antitrust case, will be distributed among roughly 3 million class members, some providers are opting out, arguing it does not go far enough.
Guillermo offered perspective on why many providers remain dissatisfied, noting that they want stronger transparency and safeguards to prevent repeat misconduct. “They want to know that there’s enough checks and balances in place for this not to happen again because if you look at the history litigation against large systems — UnitedHealthcare, Horizon — like every five to 10 years, you’ll see one of them get dinged for hundreds of millions to a billion dollars like here… And that doesn’t stop them. They will go back to doing what they did five to eight years later,” he said.
