Legal News

L.A. city attorney sues Blue Shield allleged deceptive practices

By Jason Siegel

City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo filed a lawsuit against Blue Shield of California seeking $1 billion in damages. (WATCH: KNBC story)

The suit accuses the not-for-profit health insurer of false and misleading advertising, illegally denying or delaying payment of thousands of claims or rescinding coverage after initially issuing a policy.

"In many cases, only after Blue Shield policyholders sought medical services for serious problems would Blue Shield retroactively conduct investigations into their medical history in order to find alleged discrepancies in the application," reads a press release from the Delgadillo.

"As a result, the Complaint alleges that, since 2002, Blue Shield has denied benefits to more than 850 individuals, and thousands more have had their benefits delayed because of these practices."

A Blue Shield spokesperson told the Los Angeles Times that this was "a cheap political stunt" and that the health plan rarely cancels policies, aiming to combat fraud.

Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on July 17, 2008 (boomark / email).