Callahan & Blaine

A recent Law360 article quotes one of the lead plaintiff’s lawyers, Callahan & Baline’s, Richard T. Collins, in a class action suit against UnitedHealthcare.

The article (which can be read with a Law360 account) examines the plaintiff’s (Ryan S.) urging of a California federal court not to dismiss his proposed class action suit which accuses UnitedHealthcare of putting barriers between patients and substance abuse treatment while the country is in the midst of an opioid epidemic.

The suit, which was filed in July, alleges that UnitedHealthcare obstructed access to substance abuse treatment even when patients had Employee Retirement Income Security Act plans promising access to such coverage. Ryan S. received out-of-network treatment for his addiction by way of his father’s group health plan, which he was a dependent beneficiary of.

UnitedHealthcare recently asked the court to to dismiss the suit.

Callahan & Blaine attorney, Richard Collins responded in a statement to Law360 saying, “Despite detailed factual allegations of UnitedHealthcare’s policies, practices and procedures designed to deny and limit access to essential health care benefits, which we’ve described as the “seven deadly sins,” UniteHealthcare’s motion to dismiss suggests that Ryan S.’s case should not proceed to trial. Our opposition demonstrates why the case should proceed and provides a preview of the evidence that will prove UnitedHealthcare’s repeated violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA), and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (“PPACA”).”

Collins continued, “Ryan S. is one of more than 21 million Americans who suffer from a substance use disorder. We are in the midst of an opioid and addiction epidemic. This is a public health crisis. While people are dying from addiction and families and communities are being torn apart, UnitedHealth Group announced yesterday that it expects revenues to surpass $260 billion in 2020. We will not relent in our efforts to bring UnitedHealthcare to justice upon a full, open and public trial in federal district court. We cannot allow these wrongful practices to persist.”

Any inquiries regarding this lawsuit can be sent to Richard Collins by email.

Callahan & Blaine represents corporate, professional and entrepreneurial clients of all sizes. To find out more about our distinctive approach to advocacy and dispute resolution in complex litigation, contact us at the Callahan & Blaine offices in Santa Ana.