New York State Court of Appeals Dismisses Consumers' Union Lawsuit
21 June 2005 - 5:47AM
Business Wire
WellChoice, Inc. (NYSE: WC), the parent company of Empire Blue
Cross Blue Shield, announced today that the New York State Court of
Appeals, New York's highest court, concluded that the plaintiffs'
allegations in Consumers' Union of the U.S., et. al. vs. The State
of New York and Empire HealthChoice, Inc., (d/b/a Empire Blue Cross
Blue Shield) are legally insufficient to support any cause of
action. Accordingly the Court granted the defendants' motion to
dismiss the amended complaint alleging that the Conversion
Legislation violated the State Constitution on the ground that it
is a local law granting an exclusive privilege, immunity and/or
franchise. The Court also affirmed the Appellate Division's order
affirming the dismissal of all other causes of action. "We are
pleased with the Court's decision today," said Michael A. Stocker,
MD, president and CEO of WellChoice. "This resolves all legal
issues pertaining to Empire's conversion, including the appropriate
use of the proceeds." For a full discussion of the Consumers' Union
litigation, please refer to WellChoice's Annual Report on Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2004, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q
for the three months ended March 31, 2005 and the Form 8-K to be
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. About WellChoice
WellChoice, Inc. is the parent company of the largest health
insurer in the State of New York based on PPO and HMO membership.
WellChoice, through its Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield subsidiaries,
has the exclusive right to use the Blue Cross and Blue Shield names
and marks in 10 downstate New York counties and one or both of
these names and marks in selected counties in upstate New York.
WellChoice offers a broad portfolio of products, including managed
care and traditional indemnity products, and has a broad customer
base including large group, middle-market and small group,
individual, and national accounts. Additional information on
WellChoice can be found at www.wellchoice.com. Cautionary Statement
Some of the information contained in this press release is
forward-looking, including statements relating to future financial
or business results. Forward-looking information is based on
management's estimates, assumptions and projections and is subject
to significant uncertainties and other factors, many of which are
beyond the company's control. Important risk factors could cause
future results to differ materially from those estimated by
management. Those risks and uncertainties include but are not
limited to: our ability to accurately predict health care costs and
to manage those costs through underwriting criteria, quality
initiatives and medical management; product design and negotiation
of favorable provider reimbursement rates; our ability to maintain
or increase our premium rates; possible reductions in enrollment in
our products or changes in membership including the loss of either
the New York City or the New York State account; the regional
concentration of our business in the New York metropolitan area and
the effects of economic downturns in that region or generally;
future bio-terrorist activity or other potential public health
epidemics; the impact of health care reform and other regulatory
matters; the outcome of litigation. For a more detailed discussion
of these and other important factors that may materially affect
WellChoice, please see WellChoice's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, including the discussion of risk factors and
historical results of operations and financial condition in its
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004 and
its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March
31, 2005.
Wellchoice (NYSE:WC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Wellchoice (NYSE:WC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024
Real-Time news about Wellchoice (New York Stock Exchange): 0 recent articles
More WellChoice, Inc. News Articles