Free Letter - District Court of Delaware - Delaware

Case 1 :07-cv-00069—GI\/IS Document 20 Filed 06/06/2007 Page 1 of 2
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O1'1`1S]31T1€S LLP
Matthew F. Lintner
$02888.6806
mlintner@mo1·risjames.com
Jtme 6, 2007
I VIA E-FILING AND HAND DELIVERY
The Honorable Gregory M. Sleet
United States District Court
District of Delaware .
Room 4324, Lock Box 19
844 King Street (
Wilmington, Delaware 19801
Re: Lakewood Health System, et al. v. TriWest Healthcare Alliance Corp.
C. A. No. 07-69-GMS
Dear Judge Sleet:
We write on behalf of defendant TriWest Healthcare Alliance Corp. ("TriWest"), in
response to a letter to the Court dated June 1, 2007 from plaintiffs in this case. The same letter
was submitted in a parallel action which plaintiffs have designated as a related case (Northern
Michigan Hospitals, Inc. et al. v. Health Net Federal Services, LLC, Civil Action No. 07-39
(GMS)).
These two purported class actions, filed by the same law firm, pose parallel challenges to
the administration of the TRICARE program, a comprehensive health care program for active
duty and retired uniformed service members and their families. The TRICARE program is
funded by the federal government and is pervasively regulated by the federal agency responsible
for administering the TRICARE program — the TRICARE Management Agency. TriWest is the
Managed Care Support Contractor for TRICARE's West Region. The defendant in the related
class action (Health Net) is the Managed Care Support Contractor for the North Region.
Both related actions are the subject of pending motions to dismiss. The grounds set forth
in TriWest’s motion to dismiss the complaint include: the federal government is the real party in
interest to these proceedings; the lawsuit is preempted by federal law; the government is a
necessary and indispensable party in the litigation; plaintiffs lack standing; the govermnent has
primary jurisdiction over the allegations in the complaint; plaintiffs have failed to exhaust their
administrative remedies; and plaintiffs have failed to state claims on which relief can be granted.
That motion to dismiss has been fully briefed by the parties in this case, and a similar motion to
dismiss has been fully briefed in the parallel case against Health Net.
500 Delaware Avenue, Suite 1500 | Wilmington, DE 19801-1494 T302.888.6800 F302571.1750
Mailing Address P.O. Box 2306 | Wilmington, DE 19899-2306 www.morrisjames.com

Case 1 :07-cv-00069—GI\/IS Document 20 Filed 06/06/2007 Page 2 of 2
Mo1ris]ames
The Honorable Gregory M. Sleet
June 6, 2007
Page 2
TriWest fully intends to abide by all rules governing discovery and will fully comply
with its discovery obligations in this case. However, as TriWest’s counsel has previously
explained to plaintiffs’ counsel, at the present time the Court has set no date for an initial
scheduling conference. Because there is no date for such a conference, we understand plaintiffs’
request to proceed with a Rule 26(f) conference to be premature, and TriWest has so advised the
plaintiffs.
Furthennore, in light of the pending motions to dismiss both this and the related class
action, TriWest believes that holding off on the initial scheduling conference makes sense.
TriWest will, of course, proceed in any manner the Court directs, and is available at the
convenience of the Court to discuss the status of this case.
Respectft1ll
Matthew F. Lintner (#4371)
MFL/dr
cc: Clerk of the District Court (via e-filing)
Matthew Neiderman, Esquire (via e-filing)
Robert Ryland, Esq.
1576024/1 _