Epstein Becker Green litigators obtained summary judgment dismissing an Amended Complaint in its entirety on behalf of client The New York State Catholic Health Plan, Inc., d/b/a Fidelis Care New York (“Fidelis Care”), one of the largest government programs-based health insurance plans in New York State. The case was brought by Ahmed Elkoulily, M.D., P.C., a medical provider, challenging Fidelis Care’s decision to terminate the provider’s health services contract on the basis of a finding that the provider presented a danger of imminent harm to patient care.
After extensive discovery, the New York State Supreme Court (Nassau County) reviewed the submissions of the parties and found that “Fidelis made a searching inquiry of a sample of Dr. Elkoulily’s files, and that its conclusion to terminate him was far from arbitrary,” the standard of review for a determination under New York Public Health Law § 4406-d. On an earlier motion to dismiss, the court had dismissed the provider’s three other claims for breach of contract, intentional infliction of economic harm, and violation of New York Public Health Law § 230(11)(b).
This case is one of the few reported decisions in which a health plan has invoked the right to terminate a provider’s contract without a hearing. The court’s two decisions on the subject present a sound analysis of the proper use of such extreme measures.
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