Feb. 03--Two Land of Lincoln Health customers have sued the insurance company, alleging fraud after it dropped the University of Chicago's hospital and physicians from its network.
Daniel Blumenthal and Michael Hartzmark, who each live in Hyde Park, allege that they were deceived by Land of Lincoln's listing of in-network coverage for the University of Chicago Medicine for 2016 when they bought their policies at the end of last year.
The insurance company declined to comment.
Last month, Land of Lincoln notified members that the University of Chicago would no longer be in-network as of March 1; the parties had not been able to agree on a new contract. Private insurers and health care providers negotiate prices for services. Insurers ask for discounts to include a doctor or hospital in their network.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Cook County, said the plaintiffs purchased insurance from Land of Lincoln specifically because it included in-network coverage for University of Chicago, which is also in Hyde Park. Clint Krislov, attorney for the plaintiffs, seeks to make the suit a class action.
Blumenthal has been treated at the University of Chicago for an undisclosed chronic disease that was diagnosed more than 10 years ago, the suit said. Hartzmark's wife was treated at the academic medical center last year for a life-threatening viral infection and would like to continue seeking care there, according to the suit.
They are seeking financial damages from Land of Lincoln because they each bought new, more expensive policies from other carriers last month that provide in-network coverage for the University of Chicago. Hartzmark's new policy, for instance, cost about $825 more per month than the coverage he bought from Land of Lincoln.
In addition, both will have to start over, paying a new deductible, when they switch to the new plans March 1, the suit said. Blumenthal, for example, had already spent more than $500 on medication last month that wasn't covered because he hadn't met a $1,000 deductible on his Land of Lincoln policy.
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