Given there is $2.7B riding on the BCBS Antitrust Settlement, we are on top of this case and are disappointed, yet hopeful with the recent appeal. In late September, several objections were filed by a handful of class members and we always knew it could be a possibility with a landmark settlement like this, but attorneys must now fight to overcome these hurdles. On a positive note, attorneys stand to lose quite a bit in fees if they do not resolve this matter, so we are staying optimistic that the appeal will be defeated in 6-8 months max.
Our outlook on what’s next
In the meantime, what should class members be doing? Well, once you filed a claim, the administrator will reach out with either a claim number or a request for additional information to locate your records. BCBS as you know has different entities that operate across the U.S. and when they settled they all submitted claimant information to the administrator. That means 30+ BCBS entities sent data that could have tens of millions of entries and the administrator had to normalize the data and create a master data set. This is a trickier task than it sounds, and when each BCBS entity stores different information on class members, the mission at hand becomes a nightmare.
Old addresses proving to be a problem
CCG has been spending significant time working with the administrator to locate each and every business and individual we filed a claim for. This requires us to locate clients with their names, mailing addresses, and other contact info the administrator may have in their data. We highly advise everyone who filed a claim on their own to check their email and make sure they are given a claim number from the administrator. If the address you originally submitted does not pull up your information, then it is possible they have an old address and you should try to remember all your previous addresses going back to 2008.
Reach out for details on late claims
As painful as this process may sound, CCG has to do this for dozens of class members that were not initially identified and we are even filing late claims for businesses. If you have questions about the settlement or your claim please reach out to the administrator.