Supreme Court rejects challenge to $2.67B Blue Cross settlement

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied a request from Home Depot and other employers to hear a challenge to policyholders’ $2.67 billion antitrust settlement with Blue Cross Blue Shield. 

Justices declined a petition from the home improvement retailer, design consultancy Topographic and benefits provider Employee Services alleging that the settlement does not treat self-insured customers fairly and does not go far enough to promote competition between Blue Cross companies. The court did not specify why it rejected the employers’ request.   

Related: Appeals court upholds $2.67B Blue Cross settlement

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled in October that 93.5% of the settlement funds should reimburse individual and small business policyholders that paid monthly premiums for Blue Cross plans and that self-insured employers receive the remaining amount. Plaintiff attorneys will receive $668 million. The court on Monday rejected without comment a related challenge from individual policyholders alleging attorneys received too large a piece of the settlement.

Companies and policyholders sued 34 Blue Cross companies and their nonprofit governing association in 2012, alleging their conduct improperly reduced competition and violated the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. The parties reached an agreement in 2020 and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama approved the $2.67 billion settlement in 2022.

"We are pleased with both the Supreme Court’s decision and the opportunity to begin to implement this settlement, which we agreed to nearly four years ago,” a Blue Cross Blue Shield Association spokesperson wrote in an email.

Home Depot, Topographic and Employee Services did not immediately respond to interview requests.