Mount Nittany Health joins hospitals around the country to sue Blue Cross. Here’s why
A sweeping antitrust lawsuit filed Thursday by Mount Nittany Health alleged Blue Cross Blue Shield insurers colluded to restrict competition and drive down payments to health care providers.
Mount Nittany’s lawsuit made it the latest in a line of health care systems nationwide that accused the insurance giant of underpaying them for decades, joining others who declined to participate in a $2.67 billion class-action settlement.
The health system’s attorneys wrote in the 148-page lawsuit that Capital Blue Cross paid Mount Nittany “substantially less than it would have been paid in a competitive market for health care services.”
A Mount Nittany spokeswoman said Friday that the health system does not comment on pending litigation. A message left Friday with Capital Blue Cross was not immediately returned. The company denied any wrongdoing in the settlement.
The lawsuit accused Blue Cross insurers of dividing the country into exclusive geographic markets where competition was stifled and prices paid to health care providers were fixed, resulting in higher costs to consumers.
Mount Nittany is seeking, among other remedies, three times the amount of damages the health system was allegedly underpaid. The lawsuit did not offer a specific amount.
Temple University Health and the University of Pennsylvania Health systems are among the others who filed similar lawsuits against Blue Cross.