OptumRx Seeks Arbitration Over Weight-Loss Drug Claim Approvals

A $4.3 million lawsuit that says OptumRx Inc. wrongly approved thousands of claims for weight-loss drugs should be booted to arbitration or dismissed entirely, the company told a Minnesota federal judge.

Optum’s contract to administer prescription drug benefits for the Operating Engineers Local #49 Health & Welfare Fund includes a binding arbitration clause that blocks the fund trustees’ lawsuit, the company said in a Thursday court filing. The contract also specifies that Optum doesn’t qualify as a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which is fatal to the trustees’ claims under the statute, ...