ArMA Joins AG Mayes for Announcement of Lawsuit to End Healthcare Price-fixing Scheme in Arizona

June 3, 2026

Separate Federal & State-led Lawsuits Against MultiPlan Seek to End Healthcare Price-fixing

On Monday, Arizona Medical Association President Dr. Jason Jameson and ArMA member Dr. Andrew Carroll joined Attorney General Kris Mayes to support her announcement of a lawsuit aimed at ending healthcare price-fixing in Arizona.


The lawsuit alleges that MultiPlan — a major healthcare technology and network company — and several medical insurers colluded to build a system that routinely underpaid physicians and hospitals for the care they delivered to patients.


ArMA is party to similar federal litigation against MultiPlan and was present during AG Mayes' press conference on the state-led lawsuit to show our support.

Arizona Medical Association president speaks at press conference announcing lawsuit against healthcare price-fixing in Arizona.

Separate Federal & State-led Lawsuits Against MultiPlan Seek to End Healthcare Price-fixing

On Monday, Arizona Medical Association President Dr. Jason Jameson and ArMA member Dr. Andrew Carroll joined Attorney General Kris Mayes to support her announcement of a lawsuit aimed at ending healthcare price-fixing in Arizona.


The lawsuit alleges that MultiPlan — a major healthcare technology and network company — and several medical insurers colluded to build a system that routinely underpaid physicians and hospitals for the care they delivered to patients.


ArMA is party to similar federal litigation against MultiPlan and was present during AG Mayes' press conference on the state-led lawsuit to show our support.


Insurance Companies Named in the Suit

AG Mayes' case alleges that the following major health insurers were a part of the price-fixing scheme, which relied in part on the sharing of confidential claims payment information with and through MultiPlan:

  • Aetna
  • Cigna
  • UnitedHealthcare
  • Humana
  • Elevance
  • Molina
  • Centene
  • Health Care Service Corp.



How the Alleged Scheme Worked, According to the State

According to the complaint filed by the state, MultiPlan guided insurers' price setting for out-of-network care. The recommended prices were produced by MultiPlan's algorithm-driven system, which allegedly assigned low payments for each medical code, regardless of where the care was provided or who delivered it. Insurers using MultiPlan then allegedly paid similar amounts, meaning market competition effectively disappeared.


AG Mayes alleges that artificially low payments were then fed back into the algorithm, pushing future reimbursements even lower. All the while, physicians and hospitals were left with no meaningful way to negotiate, and patients were left with larger medical bills. The Attorney General estimates that, in total, the antitrust scheme cost Arizonans — including hospitals, physicians, and other healthcare professionals — billions of dollars.


The Impacts of Healthcare Price-fixing

As ArMA shared during the lawsuit's announcement, collusion between insurance corporations to systematically underpay physicians for the patient care they have already delivered is more than insulting — it is dangerous for healthcare in Arizona.

Arizona is facing a dire healthcare workforce shortage. Reports project that by 2038, we'll meet just 57% of our patient population's need for primary care, making our outlook the worst in the nation. This is a staggering gap, and insurers' price-fixing schemes — which are driving the physicians our communities trust out of practice — are making it worse.

Ultimately, antitrust schemes in commercial medical insurance mean higher health costs, lower access to quality care, and a weakened healthcare system.


What AG Mayes is Asking

The Attorney General alleges that the actions described above violate two key Arizona laws:

  • Arizona Uniform Antitrust Act
  • Violated through the alleged coordination of a shared algorithm and through exchanging competitively sensitive information to suppress payments
  • Arizona Consumer Fraud Act
  • Violated through the alleged misrepresented value of PPO coverage and the hidden fact that a third-party algorithm was determining payments


Based on these alleged violations, AG Mayes is asking the court to place a permanent injunction on the scheme, return money to those harmed, force MultiPlan and insurers to surrender their profits, and impose civil penalties for the violation of Arizona laws.


Federal Litigation Tackles Same Issue

The Arizona Medical Association, the American Medical Association, and hundreds of physician practices and facilities nationwide are a part of similar federal antitrust litigation against MultiPlan and major insurers. ArMA joined the lawsuit earlier this year.


The case alleges that MultiPlan (Claritev) and major insurers — including UnitedHealth, Elevance, Humana, Aetna, and Cigna — conspired to systematically underpay healthcare practitioners for reimbursements for out-of-network services in an anticompetitive scheme since at least 2015.


The lawsuit aims to end these alleged antitrust actions and recoup financial damages for physicians, other practitioners, and practices.


How Arizona Physicians Can Get Involved With Federal Litigation

Physicians who believe they have been harmed by MultiPlan and the insurance companies, whether in current or past years, can obtain a free case evaluation from one of the attorneys appointed by the court to lead the non-class claims.


Clinicians may not always know whether MultiPlan — or one of its services, such as Data iSight, Viant, NCN, ProPricer, or MARS — re-priced their claims. However, clues can often be found in Explanations of Benefits or remittance advice.


Members of the Arizona Medical Association interested in joining the lawsuit as litigants are eligible for discounted contingency fees. If you believe you've been impacted by MultiPlan's practices, you are encouraged to reach out to an attorney . 


ArMA's Commitment to Ending Antitrust Conspiracies in Healthcare

The Arizona Medical Association is in lockstep with the AG Mayes on combatting anti-trust conspiracies in healthcare. Our involvement in federal litigation has a similar goal to the state-led lawsuit: to ensure physicians are justly compensated for the services they deliver so that patients can access the care they deserve.

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