Bartko, Zankel, Bunzel & Miller Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against MultiPlan Co. & Major Health Insurers

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bartko, Zankel, Bunzel & Miller filed a lawsuit on behalf of Verity Health Systems Liquidating Trust ("Verity") against MultiPlan and major health insurers for antitrust practices that violate California's Cartwright Act and Unfair Competition Law. MultiPlan admits its customers, healthcare insurance companies, paid Verity and other U.S. health care providers billions of dollars less annually than they otherwise would have for at least 10 years.

According to court documents, MultiPlan acted as an unlawful corporate hub as part of a "hub, spoke, and rim" agreement, together with most major insurance companies, to fix and artificially reduce the amounts of out-of-network reimbursement paid to hospitals. By setting lower, fixed prices for payments for healthcare provided by hospitals, MultiPlan worked with major insurance companies to exert their market dominance and cut reimbursements to hospitals by about $10 billion per year from 2012 through 2020.

The reduced payments significantly impacted the fiscal health of Verity. In 2018, Verity filed for bankruptcy, impacting hospitals in the Bay Area and Los Angeles Area, including O'Connor, Seton, Seton Coastside, St. Francis, St. Louise, and St. Vincent.

"Hospitals operate in a challenging environment and are being pushed to the brink by unfair business practices and payments from MultiPlan Co. and insurance companies," said Howard Grobstein, Verity's liquidating trustee. "Verity, in partnership with our attorneys at Bartko, is leading the charge against these unfair and illegal practices that hurt hospitals, doctors, patients and the healthcare system at large."

MultiPlan's goal, which it achieved, was to reduce the amount insurance companies pay for out-of-network healthcare services in exchange for getting a cut of the amount they help insurance companies avoid paying hospitals for the important services they provide to patients. Fortune 500 companies, including Blue Shield of California, United Health, Cigna, Anthem, Centene (Health Net), Humana, and Aetna, all agreed to pay the amount specified by MultiPlan. Given the agreement among all of the largest insurance companies, Verity and other hospitals have no choice but to accept the lower, fixed payments.

Verity's lead trial lawyer in this case, Patrick M. Ryan of Bartko stated: "We brought this action on behalf of Verity to redress a grievous wrong committed against Verity and numerous other hospitals across the country. Verity and the other providers badly needed the money, which was due to them for out-of-network care provided to patients. But the funds never came, because MultiPlan and the insurance companies unlawfully agreed to pay way below the value of those important patient services. Meanwhile, in no small part because of the unlawful conduct at issue in this case, MultiPlan's and commercial health insurers' profits skyrocketed off the backs of hospitals, like Verity, and other providers. While it is too late to save Verity from bankruptcy, we hope this action will deter similar conduct against other hospitals going forward."

About Bartko Zankel Bunzel & Miller
Bartko, established more than 40 years ago, is a boutique law firm specializing in national and international complex litigation and investigations, as well as real estate and franchising transactions. It is a 40-plus-lawyer firm dedicated to strategic cutting-edge representation of clients in California, nationally, and internationally. Bartko's practice areas include representing both plaintiffs and defendants in complex business litigation, antitrust and competition claims, intellectual property litigation, trade secret litigation, anticounterfeiting, complex employment litigation, employment/labor strategic advice and collective bargaining, and real estate litigation, among others. Bartko is presently investigating and preparing a number of other large-scale lawsuits, including ones similar to this action, on behalf of hospitals and providers across the country related to antitrust and other violations of law by insurance companies and others.

Contact: Patrick M. Ryan
pryan@bzbm.com
(414) 291-4540

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SOURCE Bartko, Zankel, Bunzel & Miller