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By Omar Mohammed
Reporter, Economy & Finance
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The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear Home Depot's challenge to a $2.7 billion antitrust settlement involving Blue Cross Blue Shield.
The decade-long case alleged that Blue Cross Blue Shield had engaged in anti-competitive behavior that contributed to high prices. Home Depot complained that the settlement would limit any potential future cases of antitrust claims against the insurance company. Blue Cross Blue Shield has denied any wrongdoing.
"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 spokesperson for Blue Cross Blue Shield told Newsweek in a statement on Monday.
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Home Depot declined to comment.
The settlement was agreed to in October 2020 after a group of people and companies who received health insurance coverage from Blue Cross Blue Shield alleged that the company had conspired with others to stifle competition.
"Plaintiffs allege that Settling Defendants violated antitrust laws by entering into an agreement not to compete with each other and to limit competition among themselves in selling health insurance and administrative services for health insurance," an official Blue Cross Blue Shield Settlement website said.
"Settling Defendants deny all allegations of wrongdoing and assert that their conduct results in lower health care costs and greater access to care for their customers. The Court has not decided who is right or wrong. Instead, Plaintiffs and Settling Defendants have agreed to a Settlement to avoid the risk and cost of further litigation."
Lawyers for the subscribers who settled the case with Blue Cross Blue Shield, in what Reuters called one of the largest class-action awards, asked the court to deny Home Depot's petitions.
Last October, the agreement was challenged in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which rejected the petition. The decision prompted Home Depot to take the case to the Supreme Court.
The agreement will lead to the establishment of a $2.67 billion settlement fund and a change in Blue Cross Blue Shield's business approach.
"Settling Defendants will also agree to make changes in the way they do business that Plaintiffs believe will increase the opportunities for competition in the market for health insurance," according to the website.
The people who could qualify for the settlement includes individuals, insured groups, and self-funded accounts who received coverage from Blue Cross Blue Shield between February 2008 and October 2020.
"The Settlement Class Period for Individuals and Insured Groups is from February 7, 2008, through October 16, 2020. The Settlement Class Period for Self-Funded Accounts is from September 1, 2015 through October 16, 2020," the website said. "Dependents, beneficiaries [including minors], and non-employees are not eligible to receive payment."
Update 06/25/24, 8:10 a.m. ET: This article was updated with a response from Home Depot.
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