Credit: Adobe Stock
Elevance Health — the parent of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield carriers in 14 states — is suing a Georgia company to stop what Elevance says is the sale of fake Anthem health benefits.
Elevance has accused LifeX Research Corp. of Smyrna, Georgia, of recruiting job hunters to work for it as "research associates," classifying the research associates as wage-earning employees, and then offering the research associates a chance to pay for a health plan affiliated with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, according to a complaint that Elevance and other plaintiffs filed in June in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
Once a research associate pays for coverage, LifeX sends the research associate "a fraudulent health insurance ID card with a fake subscriber ID and fake Anthem group number, also featuring the Anthem Marks and BCBS marks," according to the complaint. "It is not clear whether these employees have any health insurance at all."
Anthem plans heard about the cards in the spring when patients' providers began to call it about concerns about the cards, according to the complaint.
Eleveance and the other plaintiffs have received court approval to seek a temporary restraining order against the LifeX health benefits program on an expedited basis. LifeX and the other defendants are supposed to respond to a motion for the temporary restraining order "within 72 hours after formal service is perfected," according to an order issued July 3.
In addition to Elevance, the list of plaintiffs includes the health insurer's Anthem Insurance Companies subsidiary and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.
Related: DOJ accuses defendants of sending fraudulent claims to Aflac
Elevance and the other plaintiffs are alleging that the defendants in the LifeX case offered Anthem coverage that did not exist.
Legitimate organizations have been trying to offer individuals and small employers a way to team up to buy high-quality, affordable coverage through entities such as association health plans.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.