Here are nine recent lawsuits and settlements involving payers:
1. Emergency room physicians won a lawsuit against Molina Healthcare over unpaid wages, which the court ruled to be "unfair and deceptive" on Molina Healthcare's part. The insurer said the payments were "usual and customary," but jurors ruled Molina Healthcare owed $17.5 million in damages.
2. UnitedHealthcare is facing litigation in a New Jersey court over alleged violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The lawsuit claims the insurer failed to honor ERISA by not covering a type of breast reconstructive surgery.
3. A New Jersey judge ruled Aetna violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act via cross-plan offsetting practices. As of the June 21 ruling, Aetna has 21 days to counterclaim.
4. A 4th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a prior ruling that challenges Aetna and Optum for allegedly using "dummy code" to misleadingly charge administrative fees as if they were medical costs. Judges sided with claims made in the 2015 lawsuit, which alleged the insurers violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
5. The former director of Iowa's Department of Human Services, Jerry Foxhoven, sued Gov. Kim Reynolds over allegedly firing him for refusing to use Medicaid funds to pay an aide. Ms. Reynolds credits Mr. Foxhoven's termination to a scandal involving patient deaths at a state-run facility, but he claims his firing amounts to keeping him silent on the proposed use of Medicaid funds.
6. A case to expand Medicaid that was struck down by a Missouri circuit judge is being appealed to the state Supreme Court, with argument scheduled for July 13. The Supreme Court's decision could deem a recently-passed amendment unconstitutional and bring Medicaid coverage to 275,000 people.
7. Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and UnitedHealth Group settled a trademark dispute over the shared acronym "HPN." The terms of the settlement, which were signed off by a Minnesota judge June 16, were not disclosed.
8. Centene settled a pair of allegations that it was using subcontractors to misrepresent costs in Ohio and Mississippi. The insurer filed no-fault agreements with each state, paying out a total of $143 million.
9. Humana is facing a lawsuit following a data breach that exposed members' data. The lawsuit alleges Humana was negligent in informing members of the breach, which the insurer learned about in December 2020, but didn't share information with members until March 2021.