Supreme Court To Determine Whether Doctors’ Class-Action Suit Against HMOs Can Proceed
The Supreme Court on Oct. 15 agreed to consider whether 600,000 doctors can jointly sue HMOs for violating federal racketeering laws or if they must settle their disputes through arbitration, the Washington Post reports (Washington Post, 10/16). In late September, U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno approved a class-action lawsuit brought by the doctors and consolidated in Miami alleging that insurers -- including Aetna, Anthem, Cigna, Coventry, Humana, PacifiCare, UnitedHealthcare and Wellpoint -- routinely shortchanged physicians to make a profit. Attorneys for several of the HMOs appealed Moreno's ruling (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 9/27). In the Supreme Court case, PacifiCare Health Systems v. Book, PacifiCare and UnitedHealthcare contend that some doctors signed contracts agreeing to settle the dispute in arbitration. Many companies favor arbitration because it is usually "cheaper, faster and more predictable" than a trial, the AP/Inquirer reports (AP/Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/16). CBS' "Evening News" on Oct. 15 included a report on the suit (Rather, "CBS Evening News," CBS, 10/15).
The full segment is available in RealPlayer online.
