BCBS Settlement Maine — Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Payout Guide

Maine's BCBS licensee is Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maine, a subsidiary of Elevance Health (formerly Anthem, Inc.), the largest for-profit managed health care company in the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Anthem has operated in Maine for decades and as of Kaiser Family Foundation 2019 data held approximately 69% of the state's commercial insurance market — the largest market share of any single insurer in Maine by a significant margin.

Maine residents enrolled in an Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Maine fully-insured plan between February 7, 2008 and October 16, 2020, or covered through a self-funded account between September 1, 2015 and October 16, 2020, who filed a valid claim by November 5, 2021, are eligible for an individual payout. Distribution of payments began in May 2026.

Where you live does not change how your payment is calculated. The court-approved plan pays claimants in Maine exactly as it pays everyone else: your share is your “Recognized Claim” — built from the premiums (for self-funded accounts, the administrative fees) the Blue plan's records show you paid during the class period — divided by everyone's, multiplied by the net fund. The settlement publishes no state rankings, market-share weights or state payout ranges; dollar ranges quoted for individual states are estimates, not official figures.

The money is split into two pots that are paid separately: $1.78 billion for individuals, insured groups and their employees, and $120 million for self-funded accounts and their employees. Divided across the 7,774,992 claims the court approved, the average is about $244 a claim. As a rough rule of thumb (our arithmetic, not an official rate), the individual and insured-group pot pays about 54 cents per $100 of premiums: $10,000 in premiums works out to about $54, and $60,000 to about $325.

Under the court's April 24, 2026 order, shares under $200 are paid in full in the first distribution, which began May 11, 2026. Shares of $200 or more receive about 90% now, with 10% of the fund held in reserve for a later distribution. Any claimant whose share calculates to $5.00 or less receives nothing.

The sole BCBS licensee in Maine is Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maine, a subsidiary of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE: ELV), formerly known as Anthem, Inc. Elevance Health is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana and holds BCBS licenses in 14 states. The Maine subsidiary operates out of Portland and serves individual, small group, large group, Medicare Advantage, and Medicaid managed care members throughout the state.

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maine also administers the State of Maine Health Plan for state government employees, though as a government account those members are excluded from the antitrust settlement. A notable recent development in Maine is that Maine Medical Center — the state's largest hospital and part of MaineHealth — ended its in-network agreement with Anthem in 2023, creating a significant network dispute that highlighted the carrier's dominant position in the state. Despite that dispute, Anthem has retained its status as Maine's largest commercial insurer by a wide margin.

Payments to Maine claimants come from the same national fund as everyone else's, under the court's April 24, 2026 distribution order (the settlement itself received final approval on August 9, 2022). The administrator, JND Legal Administration, began the initial distribution on May 11, 2026 and sends payments in batches by the method chosen on the claim — for example a prepaid card, with an activation email from distribution@bcbssettlement.com, or a mailed check. No state or regional schedule has been published, and the settlement reports no claim counts or amounts by state.

Only claimants who filed by the November 5, 2021 deadline are paid; no new claims are accepted. Shares of $5.00 or less receive nothing, shares under $200 are paid in full, and shares of $200 or more receive about 90% now, with 10% of the fund held for a second distribution that has no date yet. Checks are void if not cashed within 90 days. To see where your claim stands, use “Check my Claim Status” on bcbssettlement.com with your Unique ID or Claim Number, or call (888) 681-1142.

• Government accounts are excluded: coverage bought by the State of Maine, its counties and cities, tribes or the federal government — whether the plan was self-funded or fully insured. That includes the State of Maine's own employee health plan.
• Federal Employee Program (FEP) coverage is excluded as a federal government account.
• Quasi-government accounts are included if they chose their own fully insured or self-funded Blue plan — for example school districts, utilities, port and transportation authorities, government-funded hospitals and public retiree benefit plans. The administrator decides individual cases: (888) 681-1142.
• Self-funded employer plans are not excluded: they and their employees share a separate $120 million fund, for coverage from September 1, 2015 to October 16, 2020.
• Medicare Advantage policies are not part of the settlement; Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policies are, if the coverage dates fit.
• Dependents and beneficiaries, including minors on a parent's plan, are not paid; the subscriber or employee who paid the premium is.
• Coverage from insurers outside the Blue system does not count.

Source: the official settlement FAQ at bcbssettlement.com (questions 7–9 and 12).