CHICAGO (LN) — The Indiana State Medical Association filed a direct-action short-form complaint June 8 in the Northern District of Illinois alleging UnitedHealth Group Inc., The Cigna Group, Aetna Inc., and other health insurers conspired to restrain trade in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act, according to court records.
The complaint, filed under MDL No. 3121 before U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly, incorporates by reference the Consolidated Master Direct Action Plaintiff Complaint previously filed and asserts five separate antitrust causes of action: horizontal agreements in restraint of trade, hub-and-spoke agreements, principal-agent combinations, agreements to unreasonably restrain trade, and anticompetitive information exchange. The association does not demand a jury trial.
The defendants include Elevance Health Inc. (formerly Anthem Inc.), Health Care Service Corporation, Highmark Health, Centene Corporation, Humana Inc., Molina Healthcare Inc., and multiple Blue Cross and Blue Shield entities including Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Mutual Insurance Company, Horizon Healthcare Services Inc. (d/b/a Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey), CareFirst of Maryland, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. MultiPlan Inc. is also named as a defendant.
The filing is a short-form complaint pursuant to MDL Order 7, which permits direct-action plaintiffs to adopt the master complaint’s factual allegations and claims while specifying their own parties, forum, and causes of action. The Indiana association checked the box for federal question jurisdiction and seeks compensatory damages, treble damages, punitive damages in amounts to be proven at trial, and declaratory and injunctive relief.
The complaint does not detail specific injuries sustained by the Indiana State Medical Association, instead adopting by reference the injuries to direct-action plaintiffs set forth in the Consolidated Master DAP Complaint. The master complaint’s underlying factual allegations about the alleged conspiracy are not included in this filing. The case is Indiana State Medical Association v. MultiPlan, Inc., No. 1:26-cv-06770 (N.D. Ill. filed June 8, 2026).