A trustee of Dallas-based Steward Health Care is suing Aetna to recover $6.36 million the carrier allegedly owes, according to a March 27 lawsuit filed in the Houston division of the southern district of Texas U.S. bankruptcy court.
In the complaint, the trustee, Mark Kronfeld, said Steward identified 1,393 medical claims that Aetna never paid nor disputed. The complaint called Aetna’s behavior “wrongful and shamelessly greedy,” citing downgraded diagnosis-related groups and evaluation and management visit levels. The plaintiff also accused Aetna of failing to pay for necessary care and allowing administrative issues to interfere with payment.
Steward’s trustee is seeking monetary damages, claiming breach of contract, along with other forms of relief.
The for-profit health system is in the midst of its own Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, which began in 2024. At the time, Steward pointed to low reimbursement from government payers and inflation as drivers of its financial distress.
The most recent lawsuit builds off a series of similar cases from February, targeting Florida Blue, Elevance Health’s Wellpoint Texas and Simply Healthcare, Leon Health, Mass General Brigham Health Plan, and CareSource, along with some subsidiaries. Those lawsuits alleged the insurers owed at least $56.9 million in unpaid claims.
Aetna declined to comment.
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