Aetna, Elevance, Humana Medicare marketing lawsuit moves forward

CVS Health subsidiary Aetna, Elevance Health and Humana must face a civil lawsuit alleging they paid kickbacks to online brokerages for Medicare Advantage enrollments, a federal court ruled Wednesday.

A whistleblower initiated the case in 2021, which the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts unsealed last year after the Justice Department intervened.

According to the plaintiffs, the three insurers paid hundreds of millions of dollars to eHealth, SelectQuote and GoHealth for steering customers to their Medicare Advantage plans in violation of anti-kickback laws and the False Claims Act of 1863. The plaintiffs also say Aetna and Humana paid brokers to limit sign-ups of enrollees with disabilities, violating federal anti-discrimination laws.