Blue Cross Must Pay Indian Tribe $8.4M for Hidden Fees

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan owes more than $8.4 million to an Indian tribe that sued the company for adding hidden fees to the tribe’s health insurance plan (Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Mich. v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mich., 2017 BL 244026, E.D. Mich., No. 1:16-cv-10317, 7/14/17).

The insurer is liable under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act for charging hidden fees to the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan’s health plan for tribe employees, a federal judge ruled July 14. However, the tribe can’t use ERISA to seek more than $5 million in hidden ...