Elevance Health is suing a former vice president and asking a federal court to stop him from starting a new job at Oscar Health, alleging the move would put the insurer’s trade secrets in the hands of a direct competitor.
The suit is at least the fifth Elevance has brought against departing executives over noncompete agreements in recent years. In June, the company sued its former chief execution officer who left for Alignment Healthcare, and in January it sued four former leaders at its Puerto Rico subsidiary who joined rival insurer Triple-S Salud.
The latest complaint, filed Sept. 9 in an Indiana federal court, names Jordan Vidor, who served as Elevance’s vice president of healthcare networks for its east region. Mr. Vidor resigned Aug. 13 and is set to start as Oscar’s senior vice president of network and provider management on Sept. 14.
In his role at Elevance, Mr. Vidor oversaw provider contracting and network strategy across 15 states and the District of Columbia, covering all lines of business, according to the complaint.
Elevance is arguing that Oscar is a direct competitor in the individual marketplace, where it operates plans in 20 states, including eight that overlapped with Mr. Vidor’s east region territory.
“Vidor cannot simply disregard or ‘unlearn’ his knowledge of Elevance Health’s provider contracts, pricing strategies, provider discount positions, network development initiatives, negotiation strategies and market plans when performing substantially similar duties for a direct competitor,” the complaint said.
Mr. Vidor’s employment and stock agreements at Elevance included a 12-month noncompete policy. He received roughly $965,000 in equity grants in March alone, each with its own noncompete terms.
Elevance is asking the court for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to block Mr. Vidor from working at Oscar or any competitor over the next year, along with a permanent injunction barring him from using the company’s trade secrets. It is also seeking damages and repayment of stock gains tied to equity that vested or was exercised over the last two years.
Becker’s has reached out to Oscar for comment and will update this article if more information becomes available.
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