A federal judge in New York has granted preliminary approval to a $350 million settlement of a class-action suit filed against UnitedHealth Group over its Ingenix database.

The preliminary approval by U.S. District Court Judge D.J. McKenna of the Southern District of New York opens the door to affected parties filing claims for reimbursement from the settlement fund.

The American Medical Association, Missouri Medical Society and New York State Medical Society, along with several other plaintiffs, alleged in the suit that UnitedHealth Group colluded with others to underpay physicians for out-of-network medical services.

Filed in March 2000, the suit sought relief for physicians who were seriously harmed by the insurer’s long-term use of the flawed database operated by Ingenix, a unit of UnitedHealth Group.

In 2008, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo found that the Ingenix database is intentionally rigged to allow insurers to shortchange reimbursements, and since that time, a number of insurers who used the database have pledged money toward the creation of a transparent replacement for the Ingenix database, operated by FAIR Health, a research network led by Syracuse University.

“The court’s approval is an important step in finalizing a settlement that recognizes UnitedHealth’s flawed payment scheme resulted in significant damages to physicians who provided out-of-network care to patients enrolled with UnitedHealth,” said AMA Immediate Past President Nancy H. Nielsen in a statement. “Years of litigation and tireless advocacy from the AMA and organized medicine have exposed the industry-wide insurer scheme and paved the way for a more equitable way to set payments for out-of-network care.”