MultiPlan antitrust lawsuits combined into single suit

Three lawsuits filed against data analytics firm MultiPlan alleging antitrust law violations for reducing pay for out-of-network providers have been consolidated into one suit seeking class action status.

The American Medical Association and the Illinois State Medical Society filed suit against the company in October in federal court in Illinois. Advanced Orthopedic Center, a medical practice in Poway, California filed its suit in June in federal court in New York. Orthopedic provider Dr. Curtis Robinson filed his suit in federal court in California.

Related: MultiPlan faces price-fixing allegations in another lawsuit

The complaints, all now in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, allege MultiPlan has contracts with 700 large insurers, which allows them to have unfair control of market rates for provider pay.

The consolidated suit alleges MultiPlan violated the Sherman Act of 1980, a piece of legislation that prohibits monopolies among companies, by allegedly shortchanging providers by billions of dollars.

A spokesperson for MultiPlan said the company intends to fight the allegations.

“We have consistently stated that these lawsuits are without merit and would ultimately increase prices for patients and employers,” the spokesperson said.

In April, the American Hospital Association asked the Labor Department to investigate MultiPlan and its larger insurer clients, including UnitedHealth Group subsidiary UnitedHealthcare, CVS Health subsidiary Aetna and Cigna for the same concerns.

The AMA and the Illinois State Medical Society did not respond to a request for comment.