Health Net Settles Charges Over Dropping Policies
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That seems to be the response by some health insurers to heavy fire they?ve taken in California over the common practice of using errors or omissions on policy applications to drop individual customers once they actually file claims. Health Net is the latest to settle. After being zapped by fines, penalties and court judgments over the past year, the insurer has now agreed to offer new coverage–no questions asked–to nearly 1,000 people whose policies it canceled after they got sick. The measure is part of a settlement announced today with California?s Department of Insurance. The company also says it will pay $3.6 million in penalties, on top of roughly $14 million in reimbursements for medical charges it didn?t pay on the policies in question. Health Net?s Chief Executive Jay Gellert told the Los Angeles Times his company ?did not necessarily agree with the California Department of Insurance? on any wrongdoing. Rather the settlement is a chance ?to move forward and make sure these affected individuals can obtain coverage.? In July, Blue Shield and WellPoint?s Anthem Blue Cross reached deals with the state?s other insurance watchdog, the Department of Managed Health Care. In addition to offering new coverage to more than 2,200 Californians they dropped, they also agreed to pay $13 million in fines. Photo by greefus groinks via Flickr Other news:
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Sometimes it’s easier to make the rap disappear than to fight it.