Welcome to the official website for the Shane Group v. BCBSM Settlement.

UPDATE: Appeals were filed to the Settlement on October 28, 2019. No payments will be made until all appeals are resolved. The Settlement Administrator does not have a time frame for when appeals will be resolved.

There is a Settlement with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (“BCBSM”) concerning its contracts with general acute care hospitals in Michigan. Your legal rights are affected whether you act or do not act. You do not need to be a BCBSM customer to be eligible for the Settlement.

The lawsuit alleges that BCBSM had clauses in its contracts with some Michigan General Acute Care Hospitals that violated federal and state antitrust laws and inflated prices for medical care at certain Michigan hospitals. BCBSM denies all wrongdoing and liability but has concluded that it is in its best interests to settle the litigation to avoid the expense, inconvenience, and interference with ongoing business operations.

The Court approved a very similar settlement in 2014, but the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit rejected that approval and instructed the Court to start the settlement approval process over because some court records had been improperly sealed and address certain other issues raised by the Sixth Circuit. The Court has unsealed those records, and the public can review them on the Documents page of this website.

The parties have slightly changed their earlier settlement agreement and seek approval of the new Settlement. Under the new Settlement, BCBSM will pay a total of $29,990,000 into a Settlement Fund that will be used to make payments to individuals and entities that paid Michigan General Acute Care Hospitals for healthcare services from January 1, 2006 to June 23, 2014 and to pay attorneys’ fees, expenses and plaintiff incentive awards, subject to Court approval.

You may review the Frequently Asked Questions and the Detailed Notice for more details on who is eligible for benefits under this Settlement and what steps members of the Settlement Class need to take to receive benefits under this Settlement.

This website will be updated periodically with new developments in the Settlement.