The Blue Cross Blue Shield subscriber settlement payout is delayed due to the appeal. The BCBS settlement alleging the antitrust laws violation has been long approved and now the class members are expecting the payment.
The US Supreme Court resolved the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals earlier in June 2024, which means the claimants can expect the payment anytime soon. The class members who filed the claim and are waiting for the BCBS settlement payout can check the expected payout date here.
BCBS Settlement Payout Date
The BCBS settlement class members who have filed the settlement claim before the deadline, 05 November 2021 were initially expecting the payment after the final approval from the court on 09 August 2022. However, the payments from the $2.67 billion settlement fund were halted as appeals were filed against the BCBS settlement approval.
On 26 Jan 2024, the appeal filed on the BCBS settlement in Oct 2023 was reached by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The US Supreme Court has denied the appeals filed on the BCBS settlement on 24 June 2024, which means appeals are resolved and the administrator will work on distributing the payments.
According to the settlement website, the administrator will send the claim determination notices via email to the class members with valid claims. The website has not updated the claim distribution yet, however, based on reports, the claimants can expect the payout soon in Feb 2025 or afterward.
How to check your BCBS settlement claim status?
The BCBS class action settlement can check the claim status to know whether their claim is approved or not and whether they will receive the payout or not in the following steps:
- You can visit the BCBS subscriber settlement website at https://www.bcbssettlement.com/
- Next, you should go to the “I Would Like To” tab and click the “check my claim status.”
- On the next page, you should enter your Claim Number or Unique ID in the given box.
- And once you click the Submit button, you can see your BCBS settlement claim status.
The claimants should remember they can only check the claims status of the claims that were filed online.
What’s the BCBS settlement about?
The antitrust lawsuit was filed against the Blue Cross Blue Shield in the Alabama federal court which later became a class action. The lawsuit claims the defendants have violated the antitrust laws as they decided not to be a competitor in health insurance and administration of Commercial Health Benefit products in Puerto Rico and the United States. The limited competition in the market led to inconvenience for the customers.
The competition in the market is highly important as it offers choices to the customers and leads to quality services. The defendant denied any wrongdoings and said that this practice leads to lower healthcare costs and access to quality healthcare.
The defendants have agreed to settle the lawsuit with a settlement fund of $2.67 billion to compensate the customers. With the monetary benefits, the defendants have also agreed to make some changes in their strategies to increase the competition in the health insurance market.
Who will receive the BCBS settlement payout?
According to the BCBS settlement agreement, people who meet the following eligibility conditions can receive the payout:
- You must have health insurance coverage of BCBS or an administrative services plan during the class period.
- You have a self-funded account, or you are from an insured group or individuals who bought the insurance plan or administrative services;
- The class period for the self-funded accounts is 01 Sep 2015 and 16 Oct 2020, where they have purchased the Blue Shield health insurance or administrative services, whereas, for individuals and insured groups, the class period is Feb 2008 and Oct 2020.
- People who have submitted the BCBS settlement claim form before the deadline, 05 Nov 2021.
Exclusion:
- The dependents, non-employees, and beneficiaries (minors) do not qualify for the settlement.
- People who have excluded themselves from the BCBS settlement through the settlement exclusion form.
How much do you expect to receive under the BCBS settlement payout?
As we have mentioned, the BCBS settlement approved fund is $2.67 billion, and the fund is first used to cover the following expenses:
- Administration expenses and cost
- Attorney’s cost and fees
- Service Awards for class representatives.
According to the agreement, the net settlement fund after the administrator processes the above-mentioned expenses will be $1.9 billion, from this fund the class members with valid claims will receive the payout.
The $1.9 billion Net settlement fund will be split into two separate funds – (a) $1.78 billion for insured groups and individuals, and (b) $120 million for the self-funded accounts. The administrator will distribute the funds to each class independently.
The individuals who filed the claim timely will receive compensation from the net settlement fund for individuals. The individual’s settlement payout depends on many factors, such as number of valid claims, premium you paid on the health insurance plan, whether your insurance is fully insured or self-funded.
According to the settlement plan of distribution, the settlement payout for individuals can vary depending on the mentioned factors, however, if the total payment of any claimants is equal to or less than $5 amount, the administrator will not process the payout for that claimant.
The BCBS settlement appeals have been resolved since June 2024, the class members with valid claims can soon expect their payment based on the purchase insurance or administrative plan during the class period and other factors. The claimants can check their BCBS claim status on the settlement website or update the changes in claim payment method to receive the payment timely.