Now is the time for health care providers to consider participating in the recent Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) antitrust class action settlement and the newly filed antitrust cases alleging widespread price fixing for out-of-network claims by MultiPlan and health insurers.

Health care provider antitrust litigation challenging health insurer anticompetitive conduct is on a recent hot streak, with health care providers securing billions of dollars in a class action settlement with BCBS health plans for alleged anticompetitive price-fixing in the prices they pay health care providers. Additionally, last year, health care providers filed antitrust suits seeking damages from MultiPlan and health insurers due to MultiPlan’s alleged price-fixing of out-of-network medical claims.

These two cases deserve providers’ attention right now before important deadlines pass.

First, a nationwide settlement was preliminarily approved in the class action of providers alleging that BCBS health plans around the country conspired to fix payment rates to providers. The details of the settlement are available at www.bcbsprovidersettlement.com.

Key deadlines in the BCBS settlement are coming up soon:

March 4, 2025: Opt Out/Objection Deadline

July 29, 2025: Provider Claims Submission Deadline

July 29, 2025: Final Approval Hearing

As a result, it is critical that health care providers — both facilities and physicians — promptly consider:

• Whether they have claims at issue subject to the settlement.
• Whether they want to participate in the settlement or opt out.
• If they choose to participate, what information and data they need to obtain and should submit that could increase their settlement payment.
• Analyze the scope of the class action settlement releases and how those provisions may impact future legal claims against the settling BCBS health plans.

Meanwhile, another potentially massive antitrust class action is gearing up right now in In re Multiplan Health Insurance Provider Litigation, Civ No. 1:24-CV-06795 (N.D. Ill.), where the American Medical Association and dozens of health care facilities and providers allege that nearly all of the largest US health insurers engaged in price-fixing for the payment of out-of-network claims by using a single vendor, MultiPlan, to share pricing information and set common, low prices. These cases are still quite early in the litigation process. But health care providers with out-of-network claims affected by the alleged price-fixing could recover a significant monetary award or settlement if the litigation proceeds and is successful.

If you have significant commercial health plan out-of-network claims exposure, now is the time to evaluate participating in the MultiPlan litigation in Illinois federal court.