Oxford Health Plans and UnitedHealth Group

The Medical Society of the State of New York and several individual doctors practicing in New York City and on Long Island have filed a class action lawsuit against one of the state's largest insurers and its parent company for illegally coercing doctors to do more business with them. UnitedHealth Group purchased Oxford and told thousands of doctors in New York that if they wanted to stay in or join one of the two insurers' networks, they had to be in both. The suit, filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, claims such a requirement violates state antitrust laws and laws against unfair and deceptive trade practices.