The U.S. Justice Department and the state Attorney General's Office on Monday asked a federal court to dismiss their 2010 antitrust lawsuit against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and its now-illegal preferential contracts with hospitals. In a joint motion in U.S. District Court in Detroit, lawyers for the Justice Department and the state wrote that the suit is no longer necessary because of a pair of new Michigan laws that will outlaw such deals, known as "most-favored nation" contracts, beginning Jan. 1.The lawyers also note that state Insurance Commissioner Kevin Clinton issued an order, effective last month, that prohibits these contracts for the remainder of the year.
