TOPEKA, Kan. (Legal Newsline) – Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced Dec. 30 that he has joined a bipartisan coalition of 14 state attorneys general in filing a brief in federal court asking for the court to reject a proposed class action settlement with United Healthcare.
In the class action case, United Healthcare allegedly denied class members coverage for Harvoni, a treatment for hepatitis C. The settlement allows for consumers to receive the continued opportunity to benefit from changes to Harvoni approval standards that United Healthcare already implemented in 2016. The states in the amicus brief argue that these class action members receive nothing of particular value while the lawyers reap $3 million.
“Consumers should come first in the class action settlement process,” Schmidt said. “In this case, the proposed settlement is not fair or reasonable and bargains away the claims of the class members. As part of our consumer protection role, our office maintains a watchful eye on proposed class action settlements that do not actually benefit the consumers they purport to protect.”
The states involves in the amicus brief are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Wyoming.