Blue Cross to pay families $3,000 each for infant helmets

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois has agreed to pay $3,000 each to about 50 families who were forced to pay for infant cranial helmets that are used to correct misshapen skulls.



The settlement agreement, announced Monday by the Cook County State's Attorney's office, includes past claims and future coverage for the devices.



The state's attorney's office originally filed suit in 2001 after receiving some inquiries from families who had been denied coverage. Assistant State's Attorney Tom Rieck said the goal is for affected families to receive payments by Nov. 1.



Demand for the cranial helmets grew after a national program encouraged parents to place infants on their backs to sleep in order to reduce Sudden Infant Death Syndrome fatalities. But putting infants on their backs sometimes caused misshapen heads, and parents and health care professionals were concerned that the condition could lead to future health problems.



Effective July 1, Blue Cross will cover FDA-approved devices for its clients and offer employers the option of covering them for their employees, said Robert Kieckhefer, vice president of public affairs for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois.



Because only about 50 families incurred out-of-pocket expenses, Kieckhefer said "the impact will be more on going forward."



"We settled it with no admission of liability or wrongdoing, so it's a good thing," he said.



The state's attorney's office and Blue Cross, which provides health coverage for more than 6.2 million people in Illinois, will be contacting families whose previous claims were refused, and they will have until Sept. 1 to respond.