Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes sues major health insurers for alleged price-fixing conspiracy

PHOENIX (KYMA, NBC) - Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced a lawsuit Monday against MultiPlan and other major health insurers.

According to a press release, the lawsuit alleges MultiPlan, Aetna, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare and other health insurers "quietly built and operated a system that slashed payments to doctors and hospitals and left Arizonans having to pay more for out-of-network care."

The press release says the lawsuit also alleges the health insurers "relied on a shared algorithm to decide how much to pay for out‑of‑network care, which relied in part on their collective sharing of confidential, competitively sensitive claims payment information with and through MultiPlan."

"MultiPlan and major insurance companies across Arizona allegedly conspired to keep payments to providers low in a scheme to pad their profit margins," said Attorney General Mayes. "By using a shared algorithm to set payments, these companies harmed doctors and patients alike — driving up patients' risk of paying more out‑of‑pocket costs, depriving providers of fair payment and sometimes forcing them to accept payment below the costs incurred for treatment, and making it harder for Arizonans to get the care they needed. This case is another example of old-fashioned price-fixing using new technology, but it's against the law all the same."

To learn more about the lawsuit, click here. To watch the livestream of the lawsuit's announcement, see attached video.