May 2003

Trigon dismissal truncates legal process

The dismissal of the Trigon/Blue Cross Blue Shield lawsuit by U.S. District Court Judge James P. Jones actually did the American Chiropractic Association a favor, chief counsel for the ACA in this case explained in a news conference.

“The judge’s ruling actually has several benefits for us,” said George McAndrews, the attorney who pursued the Wilk vs. the American Medical Association.

McAndrews explained that the dismissal:

• Removed the necessity (and cost) of a three-month preparation to go to trial;

• Saved the cost of a three-week (or longer) trial;

• Dispensed with the struggle of dealing with a jury;

• And saved the time and cost involved in proceeding through the 4th circuit on appeal, if the judge would rule erroneously or if the jury did not find in our favor.

“What Judge Jones did was truncate the process,” said McAndrews. “He has given us an opportunity to go directly to the court of appeals. In the long run, this [ruling] will save us the time and trouble of going to trial with inadequate and improper instructions.”

McAndrews said he believes the judge ruled erroneously by not allowing any discovery prior to 1996. And he said that the judge’s dismissal was based on a legal finding that a Trigon advisory panel, composed of representatives from various Virginia medical societies, could not as a matter of law conspire with Trigon to limit coverage of chiropractic services and payments to doctors of chiropractic.

McAndrews said, “I believe [his finding] defies logic. He relied on a 4th circuit case [to make his ruling] that involved a hospital credentials committee.” According to McAndrews, the case the judge used in his decision does not relate to the ACA case.

The ACA will advance the case to the appeals court, said McAndrews. The timetable tentatively includes these steps:

• The ACA has two weeks in which to file a notice of appeal.

• It then has 45 days to make a formal appeal.

• Once the ACA makes its appeal, Trigon will have 45-60 days to answer.

• ACA will file a reply.

• The court will schedule a date to hear oral arguments (in which each side has approximately 30 minutes to state its case).

• The court will make its decision.

“The entire process should take about seven to eight months from time of filing to receiving a decision,” said McAndrews.

For more background information on this lawsuit, as well as for the opportunity to make a donation to support the lawsuit, go to www.ChiroEco.com and click on the SOS (Save Our Subluxation) button.

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