$6.2M Aetna Depression Treatment Class Action Settlement Reached

A $6.2 million class action settlement has been proposed to resolve claims that Aetna misclassified depression treatment and violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

On Feb. 15, plaintiffs in the Aetna class action lawsuit asked U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall to grant preliminary approval to the $6.2 million settlement.

The plaintiff-plan participants argue that the settlement is a fair and reasonable conclusion to the class action.

Under the proposed settlement, Class Members would receive at least $1,500 in compensation and other recovery may be available. The settlement also provides a $20,000 incentive award for the lead plaintiff. Up to one third of the settlement fund will be requested by Class counsel as attorneys’ fees.

In their motion for preliminary approval, the plaintiffs say that Class Members will be able to collect 70 percent of the amount they would receive if their insurance claims were reprocessed by Aetna.

This settlement is reportedly a “tremendous victory” for Class Members as they will have the ability to recover large amounts of compensation without undergoing the process of having their claims reprocessed.

If all Class Members had their claims reprocessed by Aetna, some of them would likely be denied again and left with no recovery, the plaintiffs state.

Additionally, the Class Members argue that continuing the class action to final judgement would likely take 18 months to 2 years. A settlement is a much quicker avenue to resolve the class action lawsuit, the participants argue.

“By receiving money sooner, class members can earn interest on, invest, or spend the money, rather than being forced to wait until resolution of the litigation, which could take two more years, to receive an amount that might well be less,” the settlement motion states.

The class action lawsuit was originally filed against Aetna in September 2015, alleging that the company denied coverage for transcranial magnetic stimulation as a depression treatment.

This treatment places an electromagnetic coil near the head which delivers a magnetic pulse into the adjacent area of the brain to stimulate nerve cells. It is thought that this treatment impacts how mood areas of the brain work which helps to alleviate depression symptoms. This treatment option is often used for patients that do not respond to medications and psychotherapy as treatment options.

According to the plan participants, Aetna had a policy of denying all claims for transcranial magnetic stimulation based on a policy exclusion for experimental treatments. During litigation in June 2016, Aetna reportedly changed this policy.

Top Class Actions will post updates to this class action settlement as they become available. For the latest updates, keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter. You can also receive notifications when this article is updated by using your free Top Class Actions account and clicking the “Follow Article” button at the top of the post.

The Class is represented by Andrew N. Goldfarb, D. Brian Hufford and Jason S. Cowart of Zuckerman Spaeder LLP and Meiram Bendat of Psych­Appeal Inc.

The Aetna Depression Treatment Coverage Class Action Lawsuit is Meidl v. Aetna Inc., et al., Case No. 3:15-cv-­01319, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.