In December, US District Court Judge Federico Moreno issued an order granting an injunction preventing the judicial approval of a settlement agreement entered into between CIGNA and a certain group of physicians included in an Illinois class action. The order addressed Judge Moreno’s concern relative to the actions of CIGNA in attempting to obtain an expedited settlement outside the jurisdiction of his court and without bringing the matter before him in the multi district litigation in Miami. The article that provides a detailed update concerning the matter as well as a history of the action, noted that “[P]hysicians who have opposed the settlement say the decision to let the judge in Florida conduct the fairness hearing gives them hope they will now have an opportunity to speak against it.” Archie Lamb, co-lead counsel representing individual doctors and medical associations that are plaintiffs in the lawsuits moving through the Miami courtroom also noted “[T]he most important thing is that the judge who knows the most about managed care litigation will hear arguments for and against the settlement." For the entire article, please go to www.ama-assn.org.

An in depth article in the Wall Street Journal addresses how “[T]hroughout most of the 1990s, HMOs whacked health-care prices, squeezed hospital stays and restricted patients' freedom to choose doctors.” The article notes that although the plans cut costs, they also created unhappy consumers and physicians that rebelled against insurers' control over health decisions. The article also quotes Ralph Snyderman, health affairs chancellor at Duke University, who has been calling for an approach that he calls “prospective health care.” “The core principle is to assess people's health risks early and often and to intervene against them with timely, cost-effective prevention or treatment,” Snyderman concluded. For the entire article, please go to: http://online.wsj.com.

For additional information concerning HMO litigation, please visit the HMO Crisis Newsroom.