Court Reinstates Suit Against Aetna

A federal appeals court has reinstated the legal claims of 20 anesthesiologists who challenged an HMO’s authority to dictate standards of patient care. The three-judge panel of the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that federal Judge Denise Cote in New York was wrong to throw out the antitrust lawsuit the doctors filed against Aetna Health Plans Inc. The panel said the doctors can file an amended lawsuit charging that Aetna coerced them into signing contracts with it that they felt were unfair. The contracts dictate the terms under which Aetna will cover the fees charged by the doctors. The doctors objected to clauses allowing the HMO to fire them without cause. They said this would prevent them from serving as advocates for patients who were denied proper care by Aetna. Aetna has maintained that it has the right to set standards for its doctors.