Class-action suits against insurers moving ahead.(News)

Physicians frustrated with seemingly arbitrarily denied claims will have their day in court later this year with at least six insurers, thanks to a recent Supreme Court decision to deny the plans' appeal of a class-action suit. But settlements related to improper denials by Cigna and Aetna are likely to provide vindication even sooner.

The legal actions affect almost every practicing physician in the United States--about 900,000 doctors.

A series of suits, originally filed by several state and county medical societies, was consolidated in a U.S. District Court in Florida in 2000 and certified as a class action in 2002.

The filing named Aetna, Anthem, Cigna, Coventry, Health-Net, Humana, PacifiCare, Prudential, UnitedHealthcare, and WellPoint as defendants, and alleged that the plans violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) by engaging in fraud and extortion in a common scheme to wrongfully deny payment to doctors.

Aetna and Cigna broke off and entered into negotiations, an enormous process involving more than 100 attorneys, 19 state and county medical societies, the American Medical Association, and the plans' CEOs.

The two insurers settled in 2003, but the other parties have vowed to continue to fight, and are scheduled for trial in September in the Florida courtroom of Judge Federico Moreno. Another suit, with 60 Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans as defendants, is also before Judge Moreno.

Still, those other insurers could possibly follow in Aetna and Cigna's footsteps.