CareCore National LLC. said last week it would appeal a multimillion dollar verdict in a case that found the radiology benefits manager violated antitrust laws by preventing a handful of practices offering stand-up MRIs from joining major insurance networks in New York.

Following a two-week trial in November, a jury in a federal court in the Eastern District of New York awarded seven radiology practices $11.7 million in damages, which by law, are to be tripled. Including attorney fees and other costs, Bluffton, S.C.-based CareCore's total bill is expected to hit $40 million.

In the case, the radiology groups argued that CareCore, which controlled access to insurance networks, had a conflict of interest, as it was owned by radiologists who could compete with the plaintiffs for business, according to their law firm, Constantine Cannon.
"CareCore is very disappointed in the jury verdict that was issued on Nov. 30th," Mike Joslin, executive vice president of CareCore, told Bluffton Today by e-mail. "We continue to believe that we acted properly, in compliance with the law, and in the interest of quality, cost-effective health care."

In the suit, the stand-up MRI centers said CareCore unfairly prevented them from becoming in-network providers for Oxford, Aetna, HIP and HealthNet.

Stand-up MRIs let patients be scanned in various weight-bearing positions, in order to better diagnose the source of their back pain, according to the plaintiffs.

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