Suzanne York

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Dec. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Whatley Kallas, LLP Announces Major Settlement for Healthcare Providers A landmark $2.8 billion settlement has been reached with the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (“BCBSA”) and participating Individual Blue Plans (“Settling Defendants”). The settlement resolves claims brought by healthcare providers alleging anti-competitive practices, including agreements to divide geographic service areas and price-fixing for […]

The court overseeing the Blue Cross Blue Shield Antitrust Litigation has granted preliminary approval of the Provider Plaintiffs’ settlement, which provides $2.8 billion in monetary relief and extensive injunctive relief to healthcare providers. A copy of the preliminary approval order can be found here, and on Whatley Kallas’s settlement website at www.whatleykallas.com/bcbs-settlement.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has published rules governing Medicare Advantage for the 2026 contract year, which would add significant protections for enrollees and providers. Among the most significant provisions, the rules would: Tighten prior authorization requirements “to remove unnecessary barriers to care stemming from the use of inappropriate prior authorization” by adding

Judge Proctor has set the Preliminary Approval Hearing on the Provider Settlement in the Blue Cross Blue Shield Antitrust Litigation for November 14, 2024, at 9:30 a.m. in Birmingham, Alabama.  A copy of Judge Proctor’s Order can be found here. Up to date information on the settlement may also be found at www.whatleykallas.com/bcbs-settlement.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 14, 2024 BIRMINGHAM, AL – Today a monumental settlement was announced by Whatley Kallas, LLP, Co-Lead Counsel, in a long-running antitrust lawsuit filed on behalf of healthcare providers across the nation. The settlement with all the Blue Cross and Blue Shield entities in the country, as well as the Blue Cross

In a detailed opinion grounded in the text of ERISA and its implementing regulations, the Fifth Circuit held that UnitedHealthcare improperly denied mental health benefits for the insured’s minor child’s eating disorder treatment and that it failed to apply the correct reimbursement rate for the portion of the child’s treatment that it did cover. The

The Biden Administration has finalized its mental health parity rules under the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addition Equity Act of 2008 (“the Act”).  The rules are designed to ensure that health insurance plans comply with the Act’s requirements to provide benefits for mental health and substance use disorder care on

KFF has issued a report entitled “Medicare Advantage in 2024: Enrollment Update and Key Trends.”  Some of the key findings in the report include: 54% of Medicare the Medicare eligible population is enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, amounting to 34 million people In seven states (Alabama, Connecticut, Michigan, Hawaii, Florida and Rhode Island) 60%

The Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act, which is designed to address issues with Medicare Advantage plans’ use of prior authorization, has been reintroduced in Congress by a bipartisan group of legislators. The bill would establish an electronic standard to streamline approval of prior authorization requests by Medicare Advantage plans, reduce the amount of time