United Healthcare Beats Class Bid Over Breast Surgery Coverage

A patient suing United Healthcare Insurance Co. for declining to cover certain post-mastectomy breast reconstruction surgeries lost her bid to have the case certified as a class action covering thousands of people.

The proposed class includes patients whose claims are subject to different standards of judicial review, making the case inappropriate for class treatment, Judge Susan D. Wigenton said. Determining the proper standard of review requires looking at the health plan document governing each patient, which can’t be done on a class-wide basis, Wigenton said in an unpublished opinion docketed Thursday in the US District Court for the District of ...