The U.S. Department of Labor late last week filed a lawsuit alleging that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota wrongly passed along a particular state tax to employer health plans. The outcome of the case could have ramifications for plan sponsors, experts said.

According to the complaint, Blue Cross required self-funded employer health plans to cover the cost of the state's "provider tax" as an undisclosed piece of the negotiated service rates they pay to health-care providers. Hospitals and clinics in the state pay the tax to fund the MinnesotaCare health insurance program for lower-income residents.

Between 2016 and 2020, Blue Cross collected at least $66.8 million from 370 self-funded plans to pay the tax obligations for health-care providers in the health insurer's network, the lawsuit said. It did this "without authority to do so under the plans' governing documents."