Dynamic Accident Lawyers: Blue Cross Blue Shield and ConAgra Face Class Action for Autism Therapy Denial

Blue Cross Blue Shield and ConAgra Foods Inc. both face a California class action lawsuit for denying insurance claims to cover autism therapy treatments, allegedly violating ERISA laws.

The class action lawsuit alleges that, by denying coverage for behavioral therapy treatments for autism, Blue Cross Blue Shield and ConAgra violated the Employment Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA, as well as both state and federal mental health laws.

A ConAgra employee, Gabriella R., reported that plan supposedly covers mental health treatment, and yet denies autism therapy treatments. In Gabriella’s case, Blue Cross Blue Shield denied her five-year-old son’s applied behavior analysis therapy.

Despite this bad faith insurance claim denial, Gabriella says that her son had previously been covered by the plan for a year. According to the California lawsuit, Blue Cross Blue Shield had a responsibility to ensure that the care provided for her son would be consistent.

Blue Cross Blue Shield has “breached this duty by supplanting generally accepted treatment standards in the mental health field with standards that promote the self-serving, cost-cutting preferences of [Blue Cross] and its corporate affiliates,” Gabriella says in the lawsuit.

When Gabriella switched to Blue Cross Blue Shield in 2014, she contacted the company and confirmed that her son’s ABA therapy was covered at 90 percent coinsurance.

While her son received his promised ABA treatment for a couple of months in 2014, Gabriella’s request for reimbursement was denied. According to Blue Cross Blue Shield, the reported services were excluded, which led to the bad faith insurance claim denial.

Though Gabriella appealed the denial, Blue Cross upheld its decision to deny her insurance claim.

Through her bad faith insurance class action lawsuit, Gabriella intends to represent members of a class who are enrolled in an ERISA-governed insurance plan who were denied coverage for ABA therapy for autism.

The California class action lawsuit includes an order for Blue Cross to reverse their claim denials for those who receive ABA therapy, as well as to adopt new guidelines that are consistent with the generally accepted rules and laws in the mental health field.

While Gabriella began appealing her claim denial, a group of employees at Boeing filed a class action in Washington, claiming that the company failed to include ABA therapy coverage for dependents diagnosed with autism.

Many disappointed consumers who report they have legitimate disability and health insurance claims are filing bad faith insurance lawsuits and class action lawsuit, hoping to eventually reverse denial of benefits.

More and more people that have been denied mental health insurance are coming forward with their personal stories in these claim denial cases. Some injured parties have decided to file lawsuits for bad faith insurance, gaining thousands or in some cases even millions of dollars in settlement money.

If you or someone you know has been denied long term mental health insurance or other insurance, you may be able to file a bad faith insurance lawsuit or join a class action lawsuit.

Join a Free California Bad Faith Insurance Lawsuit Investigation

A bad faith lawsuit investigation has been launched into allegations that some California insurance companies are refusing to pay valid medical claims or offering to pay far less than the claim is worth. Some of the companies being investigated for potential violations include:

Aetna
Anthem Blue Cross
Blue Cross of California
Blue Shield of California
Cigna
Health Net
Kaiser
Secured Horizons
United Healthcare
WellPoint
Others

If you or a loved one were denied coverage for autism treatment, mental health treatment, plastic surgery skin removal after weight loss, proton therapy for cancer, or some other medically necessary treatment, you may have a legal claim.

Get a Free Case Evaluation Now

We tell you about cash you can claim EVERY WEEK! Sign up for our free newsletter.

Email*
State*
selectAlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingArmed Forces AmericasArmed Forces EuropeArmed Forces Pacific

jQuery(document).ready(function($){gformInitSpinner( 5, ‘http://11284-presscdn-0-40.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/plugins/gravityforms/images/spinner.gif’ );jQuery(‘#gform_ajax_frame_5’).load( function(){var contents = jQuery(this).contents().find(‘*’).html();var is_postback = contents.indexOf(‘GF_AJAX_POSTBACK’) >= 0;if(!is_postback){return;}var form_content = jQuery(this).contents().find(‘#gform_wrapper_5’);var is_confirmation = jQuery(this).contents().find(‘#gform_confirmation_wrapper_5’).length > 0;var is_redirect = contents.indexOf(‘gformRedirect(){‘) >= 0;var is_form = form_content.length > 0 && ! is_redirect && ! is_confirmation;if(is_form){jQuery(‘#gform_wrapper_5’).html(form_content.html());setTimeout( function() { /* delay the scroll by 50 milliseconds to fix a bug in chrome */ jQuery(document).scrollTop(jQuery(‘#gform_wrapper_5’).offset().top); }, 50 );if(window[‘gformInitDatepicker’]) {gformInitDatepicker();}if(window[‘gformInitPriceFields’]) {gformInitPriceFields();}var current_page = jQuery(‘#gform_source_page_number_5’).val();gformInitSpinner( 5, ‘http://11284-presscdn-0-40.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/plugins/gravityforms/images/spinner.gif’ );jQuery(document).trigger(‘gform_page_loaded’, [5, current_page]);window[‘gf_submitting_5’] = false;}else if(!is_redirect){var confirmation_content = jQuery(this).contents().find(‘#gforms_confirmation_message_5’).html();if(!confirmation_content){confirmation_content = contents;}setTimeout(function(){jQuery(‘#gform_wrapper_5’).replaceWith(” + confirmation_content + ”);jQuery(document).scrollTop(jQuery(‘#gforms_confirmation_message_5’).offset().top);jQuery(document).trigger(‘gform_confirmation_loaded’, [5]);window[‘gf_submitting_5’] = false;}, 50);}else{jQuery(‘#gform_5’).append(contents);if(window[‘gformRedirect’]) {gformRedirect();}}jQuery(document).trigger(‘gform_post_render’, [5, current_page]);} );} ); if(typeof gf_global == ‘undefined’) var gf_global = {“gf_currency_config”:{“name”:”U.S. Dollar”,”symbol_left”:”$”,”symbol_right”:””,”symbol_padding”:””,”thousand_separator”:”,”,”decimal_separator”:”.”,”decimals”:2},”base_url”:”http:\/\/topclassactions.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/gravityforms”,”number_formats”:[],”spinnerUrl”:”http:\/\/topclassactions.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/gravityforms\/images\/spinner.gif”};jQuery(document).bind(‘gform_post_render’, function(event, formId, currentPage){if(formId == 5) {gformInitChosenFields(‘#input_5_2′,’No results matched’);} } );jQuery(document).bind(‘gform_post_conditional_logic’, function(event, formId, fields, isInit){gformInitChosenFields(‘#input_5_2′,’No results matched’);} ); jQuery(document).ready(function(){jQuery(document).trigger(‘gform_post_render’, [5, 1]) } );

Top Class Actions is a Proud Member of the American Bar Association

american-bar-association