The Supreme Court will not hear a legal challenge to the nearly $2.7 billion Blue Cross Blue Shield settlement.
The panel rejected a petition for appeal following a lower court decision in October that upheld the arrangement. The massive settlement resolves allegations that first lobbied in a class action suit that BCBS plans colluded with one another by dividing up geographies to avoid competiting against each other directly.
The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association signed on to the settlement in 2020, with other entities following after. A federal district court backed the settlement in 2022.
Home Depot, a large retail employer, challenged the Alabama district court's decision, however, saying that it could make it harder for future antitrust action against the Blues system to proceed.
The Eleventh Circuit Court rejected this argument, however, saying the settlement does not preclude the federal government from any future antitrust action against Blues plans nor does it include a release for future class action suits against BCBS insurers.
The Supreme Court also declined to hear a challenge to the legal fees set to be paid out in the case. A $667 million payout to the attorneys would rank among the highest-ever payouts related to a class action.
In a statement to Reuters, BCBSA said it welcomes the decision as well as "the opportunity to begin to implement this settlement."