More Surgeons Sue Insurers Over Post-Cancer Breast Operations

Plastic surgeon Ali Al-Attar has been shorted by insurers before, but when Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield refused to pay him more than $2,300 for a cancer patient’s breast reconstruction surgery that cost over $24,000, he took his grievance to court.

“It was egregious,” said Al-Attar, one of nine surgeons with the Alexandria, Va.-based Affiliates in Plastic Surgery LLC. The average out-of-network cost to reconstruct a breast with muscle flap in the Washington region is $22,093, according to Fair Health, a nonprofit that providers consumers with information about health care costs.

Al-Attar’s case, which settled for an undisclosed ...