The civil lawsuit was filed Tuesday in San Francisco Superior Court against Blue Cross of California, Anthem Blue Cross Life and Health Insurance Company and Health Net.
The suit alleges the companies have “engaged in a demonstrable and unjust pattern of payment delays and underpayment of claims submitted by SFGH and other public hospitals,” according to the report. The suit seeks an injunction to halt the allegedly unfair business practices, in addition to restitution for alleged underpayments and civil penalties of up to $2,500 for each alleged violation.
According to the suit, the health insurance companies have refused to make payments based on the full amount of charges for services. The payors are instead allegedly applying arbitrary reductions to received bills. According to the report, Anthem Blue Cross denies the allegations and Health Net opted not to comment on the pending litigation.
Read the SF Appeal report on San Francisco’s lawsuit against medical insurers.
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