On Feb. 8, 2011, the Board of the Congress Of Chiropractic State Associations (COCSA) voted to join a national ERISA Class Action, on behalf of its State Association members, against UnitedHealth Group to challenge overpayment recoupment abuses.

The action was originally filed on Jan. 24, 2011 by Pomerantz Haudek Grossman & Gross LLP, one of the nation’s preeminent class action law firms and a leader in combating the abuses of the health insurance industry, on behalf of a group of chiropractors, and the Ohio State Chiropractic Association (OSCA).

Pomerantz seeks to represent a nationwide class of all healthcare providers who have been subjected to improper demands by UnitedHealth Group to repay previously paid healthcare benefits for services provided to UnitedHealth Group subscribers, only to have such funds forcibly recouped by the withholding of future payments from unrelated claims in alleged violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Federal law governing private employee benefit plans.

The latest Class Action against UnitedHealth Group is the third national class action filed by Pomerantz, following similar litigations brought against Aetna and 23 Blue Cross Blue Shield entities filed within the last two years. Initial court rulings have been favorable to provider plaintiffs.

By far, chiropractic plaintiffs have led all other healthcare providers in seeking judicial guidance and legal victories against abusive overpayment recoupment crisis faced by all healthcare providers. COCSA is dedicated to supporting all provider class actions that benefit chiropractors by seeking to stop such abusive and discriminative insurance practices.

Through this historic and landmark decision to join the class action, COCSA will be asserting its right, through representational standing, to obtain appropriate equitable relief to address the abuses at issue on behalf of its State Association members in all 50 states.

UnitedHealth Group, which acquired the health insurance business of Health Net of the Northeast in December 2009, is the nation's largest private health plan by revenue. The action alleges that the post-payment audit and review process as applied by the Defendants violates ERISA in that its repayment demands are retroactive adverse benefit determinations that particular services are not covered under the terms of the United and Health Net health care plans, but without proper appeals or other protections otherwise available under ERISA for both self-funded and fully insured health care plans offered through private employers.

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