Physicians prevail in legal battles;
claim your settlement funds today

From Jeffrey Kaufman, M.D.
CUA Director of Legislative Affairs

Good news. This week, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear arguments
appealing the national RICO lawsuit filed by 600,000 physicians against the largest
HMO insurance companies claiming improper contracting and payment practices
including bundling of services, downcoding, failure to recognize modifiers,
breach of state prompt payment laws and misrepresentation of criteria used to
approve various treatments. The suit against HealthNet, Humana, PacifiCare
Health Systems, UnitedHealth Group and WellPoint Health Network is poised to go
forward next September. We expect them to settle favorably before the suit is
completed and change their practices.

Aetna and CIGNA have already settled these suits and money from the
settlement is now available to physicians for claims between 1990-2003. The CIGNA
resolution provides for $70 million in payments to physicians but the February 18,
2005 deadline is fast approaching. Doctors can either make a claim for a
simple share of a $30 million pool of funds or submit details on improperly paid
claims for an unlimited amount of reimbursement.

You can access information about the settlement including a breakdown
on the categories of claims and download a claim form at
www.CIGNAPhysicianSettlement.com or call toll free to 1-800-683-9363.
You can also contact the CMA for information at 415-882-5144.
Another option is to enlist help from the CMA sponsored Managed Care Advisory
Group. MCAG can assist filing the more complicated claims for a small fee that
is further discounted if you belong to the CMA and AMA. They are very helpful
and willing to discuss your needs in order to help you decide what category
to file under (only one category is allowed per physician and once elected,
cannot be changed) and whether it is cost effective to utilize their services.
MCAG can be reached at 1-800-355-0466.

Even if you find that your CIGNA settlement claim does not need their help,
the Aetna settlement is soon to make $100 million available and then the other
companies are likely to provide even more. There is no need to ignore the
millions and millions of dollars that these companies took from you during the
past 13 years; it is your money. I urge all our CUA members to take advantage of
this settlement and contact the MCAG if you need help. This lawsuit has been
a major victory for practicing physicians but you must act before the 2/18/05
deadline to receive any money from this first settlement package. Look for
future information from the CMA or the CUA.

If there are any further questions, please contact the CUA by email at info@cuanet.org
or by phone at 714-550-9155.