Blue Cross Blue Shield recently finalized their settlement with their subscribers and is currently in the process of reviewing claims and sending claim determination notice emails to people who have filed their claims. Blue Cross Blue Shield Association is a US federation with 33 independent and locally operated BCBSA companies that provide health insurance to more than 115 million people. The settlement is regarding plaintiffs’ allegations that Blue Cross Blue Shield violated antitrust laws.
Blue Cross Blue Shield provides healthcare to one-third of Americans
Blue Cross Blue Shield is a major healthcare provider in the US. One in three Americans receive health coverage through one of Blue Cross Blue Shield’s 33 independent companies as of 2023 data. Blue Cross Blue Shields are locally owned and operated cooperations. Additionally, they are one of the largest employers in the nation, employing over 150,000 people nationwide.
Healthcare coverage is a persistent concern for Americans. According to 2023 data, just over 92% of the country has health insurance, with 65.4% of this coverage cominng from private companies. As of 2025, Blue Cross Blue Shield companies have network agreements with 1.7 million physicians and hospitals across the country as well as paying out $600 billion in health coverage claims.
Blue Cross Blue Shield settles $2.67 billion litigation
Blue Cross Blue Shield first faced a class-action lawsuit in 2013, with plaintiffs alleging that the company broke antitrust laws. A settlement was reached with plaintiffs in October of 2020 after a seven year legal battle. According to the Blue Cross Blue Shield settlement website, as part of the settlement, a $2.67 billion Settlement Fund was agreed to as well as Blue Cross Blue Shield agreeing to make changes in the way they do business in order to increase the opportunities for competition in the market for health insurance.
“Plaintiffs allege that Settling Defendants violated antitrust laws by entering into an agreement not to compete with each other and to limit competition among themselves in selling health insurance and administrative services for health insurance. Settling Defendants deny all allegations of wrongdoing and assert that their conduct results in lower healthcare costs and greater access to care for their customers. The Court has not decided who is right or wrong. Instead, Plaintiffs and Settling Defendants have agreed to a Settlement to avoid the risk and cost of further litigation,” states the Blue Cross Blue Shield settlement website
Blue Cross Blue Shield had denied these allegations. While the closing date to apply for a claim has passed, Blue Cross Blue Shield has yet to announce when it will start sending out payments. About six million individuals filed for a claim, which would mean individuals could expect to receive around $300 in payment. The deadline to object or opt out of a claim was May 2022.
Second settlement for Blue Cross Blue Shield
On top of the 2020 settlement, Blue Shield Blue Cross has settled another class-action lawsuit, this one with hospitals and health-care providers. The $2.8 billion settlement refers to a lawsuit filed against the company in 2012 alleged that Blue Cross Blue Shield increased the cost of insurance and drove down reimbursements. Blue Cross Blue Shield has also denied any claims to wrong doing for this settlement.
If you are an opponent to the settlement, you still have time to lodge challenges before the court decides on a final approval. A final fairness hearing is set for July 16, 2025. However, in further bad news for Blue Cross Blue Shield, on March 5, dozens of hospital systems and healthcare providers filed separate lawsuits in federal courts in California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania, accusing Blue Cross Blue Shield and its affiliates of underpaying them by billions of dollars, opting out of the $2.8 billion class action settlement and choosing instead to pursue separate legal action.
