Anthem’s Spinal Surgery Settlement Needs Better Notice

Anthem Inc. can’t use basic first class mail to notify about 200 people of a class action settlement over spinal surgery valued as high as $35,000 per person.

The parties must at least use Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelopes and mark the envelopes with “attention-getting text” to maximize the likelihood that class members will pay attention to the notice, Judge André Birotte Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California said.

Birotte’s Jan. 11 order said he was “dismayed” the class members’ attorneys initially rejected his suggestion to use Priority Mail, calling it “tantamount to a ...