A Fulton County judge Wednesday rejected UnitedHealthcare's request for an injunction to halt the implementation of a lucrative contract for the state employee health plan.
Attorneys for United argued that the Department of Community Health's award of a State Health Benefit Plan (SHBP) contract to a rival company, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia, amounted to "state-sponsored bid-rigging.''
Superior Court Judge Kimberly Adams declined to intervene, accepting the state's argument that United has not yet exhausted its appeals with Community Health officials as it seeks to overturn the deal.
The multibillion-dollar contract covers medical services for more than 650,000 state employees, schoolteachers, other school personnel, retirees and dependents.
United, which covers most of the policyholders under the current SHBP contract, has mounted a strong attack against Community Health's actions, saying the department has not produced all relevant documents under the Open Records Act and conducted a "secret'' bid for a regional contract.
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