Tuesday, October 4, 2011
A Los Angeles Superior Court recently certified a class-action lawsuit against health insurance provider, Anthem Blue Cross. The suit alleges that Anthem Blue Cross violated various California state laws by restricting the manner in which its policyholders receive benefits for outpatient mental health treatments for severe illnesses such as schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, manic-depressive illness, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), anorexia nervosa, bulimia, panic disorder, and severe depression.
According to the lawsuit, Anthem Blue Cross, beginning in January 2010, implemented a Behavioral Health Professional Outpatient Review Program that unlawfully restricted benefits for policyholders who sought reimbursement for more than 12 outpatient mental health treatments annually. The decisions denying coverage were, among other things, made by unqualified doctors who were biased against paying for medically necessary treatments for serious mental health illnesses and conditions.
"This is an important case. Our clients are among California's most vulnerable citizens," said Michael L. Cohen of Cohen McKeon LLP, one of the law firms that was certified to represent the class of policyholders against Anthem Blue Cross. "The Unruh Act is California's principal anti-discrimination law. This is the first case of which we are aware in which a court has certified for class treatment under the Unruh Act a claim for discrimination against those with a 'disability' and the alleged discriminatory conduct is a corporate policy and not restricted physical access to a public building, such as curb cuts, ramps, size of bathroom stalls, handrails, etc."
Kathryn Trepinski, a lawyer based in Beverly Hills, is also representing the policyholders against Anthem Blue Cross. The lawsuit is Katz v. Blue Cross [case BC451649].
Cohen McKeon LLP is a Los Angeles-based law firm that focuses on representing policy holders in law suits against insurance companies (www.cohenmckeon.com). For further information, please contact Michael L. Cohen, Esq. at (213) 413-6400.