Uncategorized

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 6, 2024 BIRMINGHAM, AL – Whatley Kallas, LLP—Co-Lead Counsel in the long-running antitrust lawsuit filed on behalf of healthcare providers nationwide— has announced a significant milestone in the case: the Court has granted preliminary approval of the settlement. The monumental settlement involving all Blue Cross and Blue Shield entities and the […]

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 American Hospital Association has issued a Costs of Caring Report showing increased costs to hospitals and health systems coupled with inadequate payer reimbursement creating “an environment of financial uncertainty where many hospitals and health systems are operating with little or no margin.” Among the highlights of the Report are the following: Hospitals’ labor costs,

In a victory for providers, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the District Court opinion striking down the rules governing how payments for out-of-network payments should be determined in arbitrations under the No Surprises Act. Congress passed the No Surprises Act to prevent patients from being surprised by bills for out-of-network cost sharing