After more than a decade, a judge has approved a historic $2.8 billion class action settlement involving Blue Cross Blue Shield — but for some providers, this isn’t nearly enough.

The settlement was to resolve a lawsuit filed in 2012, in which providers and hospitals claimed that Blue Cross and its affiliated plans underpaid them. Providers alleged that Blue Cross violated antitrust laws by dividing the U.S. into “service areas” and agreeing not to compete in those areas. They also argued that the insurer fixed prices for its services.

In other words, the plaintiffs alleged that Blue Cross deflated reimbursements by colluding across different states to pay no more than a certain amount for services, said Guillermo Beades, a partner in Frier Levitt’s Healthcare Litigation Department.

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