www.hmocrisis.com July 8th, 2002

July 8, 2002-Miami, FL--- Judge Moreno Issues Order

U.S. District Court Judge Federico A. Moreno issued an order in the consolidated Managed Care Cases before him in the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida on July 1, 2002. The Order, relevant to both the provider and subscriber track case, continued the stay of discovery currently in place and set July 16th as the date for a Status Conference hearing before Judge Moreno. The July 16th hearing will begin at 9:30 AM ET and will address dates for final Pre-trial conference, Discovery and other matters. The entire order can be viewed Here. A complete history of the action is also available in the HMO Crisis Newsroom archives.

July 8, 2002-Baton Rouge, La----Louisiana State Medical Society to Join HMO Lawsuit

The Louisiana State Medical Society (LSMS) has announced its intent to join as a party plaintiff the RICO lawsuit currently pending in the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The 6,800 members of the LSMS will also join in four class action lawsuits filed in Louisiana state court against four of the largest health plans in Louisiana. Named as defendants in the suits are CIGNA Healthcare of Louisiana, Inc., United Healthcare of Louisiana, Inc., Aetna U.S. Healthcare, Inc., and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana. LSMS President K. Barton Farris, MD stated, “These health plans have systematically breached their contracts with our members and our members have been continuously thwarted in their efforts to require the health plans to honor their contracts, so we now look to the courts to force the health plans to fulfill their contractual obligations.” For the complete release issued by the LSMS please go to www.lsms.org.

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