Capital Blue Cross settlement information

A preliminary settlement agreement has been reached with the Capital Blue Plans in the Love, et al. v. Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) Association nationwide class action lawsuit brought by 90,000 physicians. This Capital Settlement is in addition to and separate from the earlier BCBS Parties and Highmark Settlements with an approximate $3.5 Million Payout for physicians. The Capital Settlement settling plans operating in Pennsylvania include:

• Capital BlueCross
• Capital Advantage Insurance Company
• Keystone Health Plan Central

Virtually any physician who treated one or more enrollees of any BCBS plan that is a primary licensee, including an enrollee through a BCBS plan from another state, between January 1, 1996 and March 12, 2008 can participate in this settlement and claim at least one share. If a physician has provided services to patients covered by any of the settling Capital  Blue plans, the physician qualifies for 10 times the base amount of the settlement fund. (Please note that eligible physicians can file a proof of claim in the BCBS Parties Settlement, the Highmark Settlement and the Capital Settlement.)

Physicians wishing to be excluded form this settlement must submit a complete and timely request expressing to opt-out to the settlement administrator by May 30, 2008.

The completed proof of claim forms must be postmarked no later than June 30, 2008 and sent to:

Capital BlueCross
Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 4390
Portland, OR 97208-4390

Visit the AMA's interactive Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) settlement state map to locate the BCBS parties involved in your state or region in the recent BCBS parties’ settlement.

Pertinent information:

Date settlement reached by parties: Feb. 1, 2008

Preliminary approval date: Feb. 1, 2008

Settlement Notice Packets were mailed to Class Members: April 1, 2008

Opt-out deadline: Must be received by the settlement administrator by May 30, 2008

Fairness hearing date: June 13, 2008

Proof-of-claim form deadline: Postmarked by June 30, 2008

Final approval date: TBD

Value of settlements:

Retrospective relief: $3,479,985

Prospective relief: TBD

*Links below will take you off the AMA Web site. The AMA is not responsible for the content of other Web sites.

Mailed Notice (PDF, 36KB)
Claim Form Instructions (PDF, 51KB)
Claim Form (PDF, 161KB)