Groups Sue Over Reimbursement

In addition to the AMA, Chicago, the plaintiffs include the California Medical Association, Sacramento, Calif.; the Connecticut State Medical Society, New Haven, Conn.; the Medical Association of Georgia, Atlanta; and the North Carolina Medical Society, Raleigh, N.C.

The AMA helped file similar suits against Aetna Inc., Hartford, and CIGNA Corp., Philadelphia, in February.

In the suits, the plaintiffs say insurers conspired with the Ingenix health pricing database unit of UnitedHealth Group Inc., Minnetonka, Minn., to depress reimbursement rates.

“WellPoint is committed to providing appropriate reimbursement for out of network services,” a WellPoint representative says in a response to the suit. “We are in the process of reviewing the complaint and are unable to comment further at this time.”