⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

Northwell Health challenges the dismissal of its lawsuit over hospital bills for patients insured by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts. Northwell provided the care, but its provider contracts are with Empire, the New York Blue Cross company, not the Massachusetts insurer. The BlueCard program connects these separate insurers so patients can obtain care through participating providers outside their home plan. Northwell contends that it was underpaid and that the Massachusetts insurer is responsible. The dispute is about who can enforce which obligations in that payment chain. The district court rejected Northwell's contract and restitution claims, and later denied its proposed amendments as futile, meaning they would not cure the legal deficiencies. This appeal concerns the sufficiency of the pleadings, not a trial determination of what money is actually owed. Both lawyers will discuss an earlier Second Circuit decision they call CareFirst. In that similar dispute, the court allowed Northwell's ratification and quasi-contract theories to proceed, but upheld dismissal of its third-party beneficiary claims. That was a different case, not the resolution of this appeal. Ratification means adopting an otherwise unauthorized act or agreement through conduct, including knowing acceptance of its benefits. A quasi-contract claim seeks restitution to prevent unjust enrichment rather than enforcement of an agreed promise. A third-party beneficiary instead claims a right to enforce a contract made by others for its benefit; receiving an incidental benefit is not enough. Northwell will argue that CareFirst requires revival of its contract and quasi-contract claims, and that its proposed new allegations also support a third-party beneficiary claim. The insurer will defend dismissal of that beneficiary claim while preserving its objections to CareFirst's other reasoning. Alternative legal theories may be pleaded together; that does not authorize double recovery for the same loss.

Northwell Health, Inc. v. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Inc. (No. 25-3214) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, argued October 23, 2026.