San Diego, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/27/2013 -- An investigation on behalf of all individuals who, from May 17, 2008 to the present have paid health insurance premiums for individual health insurance by Blue Cross and Blue Shield was announced.

If you paid health insurance premiums from May 17, 2008 to the present for individual or small group full-service commercial health insurance by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of any of the below listed states, you have certain options and you should contact us at Mail@Thieler-Boeh-Seitz.com or call +1 (619) 866 – 6157.

The investigation by a law firm seeks to determine whether Blue Cross and Blue Shield in the above listed states have driven up health care costs by conspiring to carve up the insurance market. More specifically, the investigation concerns whether that several state Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans through their national trade group – the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association - have potentially agreed not to compete.

The states that could be affected include the following:
1. Alaska
2. Mississippi
3. Western Pennsylvania
4. Iowa
5. Michigan
6. Rhode Island
7. Arkansas
8. Montana
9. New Hampshire
10. Southwestern Virginia
11. Nebraska
12. Delaware
13. Hawaii
14. North Dakota
15. Illinois
16. Indiana
17. Kansas
18. Maine
19. Tennessee
20. Washington, D.C. District of Columbia
21. Maryland

Recently a purchaser who paid health insurance premiums to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama filed a lawsuit against Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association over an alleged ongoing conspiracy in violation of the Sherman Act. The plaintiff alleges that the defendants have charfed inflated premiums as a result of the alleged illegal conspiracy and as a result of anticompetitive conduct it has taken in its illegal efforts to establish and maintain monopoly power throughout Alabama.

The plaintiff claims that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama is the direct result of an illegal conspiracy in which thirty-seven of the nation’s largest health insurance companies have agreed that they will not compete with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama in Alabama

According to the complaint the Defendants’ alleged illegal conspiracy has perpetuated monopoly power of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama in Alabama, which has resulted in skyrocketing premiums for enrollees in the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama for over a decade.

The U.S. Justice Department has been investigating whether a contract provisions, commonly known as “most favored nation” clauses, which ensured that Blue Cross received the best prices for health care services, in North Carolina and other states violate antitrust laws.

Those who paid health insurance premiums from May 17, 2008 to the present for individual or small group full-service commercial health insurance by Blue Cross and Blue Shield in the above listed states, have certain options and should contact us at Mail@Thieler-Boeh-Seitz.com or call +1 (619) 866 - 6157.

Contact:
For Prof. Dr. Thieler – Prof. Dr. Boeh – Thieler – Seitz Corp.
Marc Stein, +1-619-866-6157
Mail@Thieler-Boeh-Seitz.com
www.Thieler-Boeh-Seitz.com