Friday, November 16, 2007

Health Net punished for lying about contract cancellation bonuses

Health Net punished for lying about contract cancellation bonuses:

"State health regulators fined Health Net Inc. $1 million Thursday for lying to investigators about paying employees bonuses based on the number of contracts they canceled after those policyholders got sick. The penalty was the first levied on a health insurer for withholding information about incentives given to its employees. Health Net, along with other major health insurers, is being investigated for combing through applications of members after they have filed claims to find mistakes or omissions that would justify revoking policies. Insurers say they resort to rescinding policies only when members lie about their health histories, but consumers say the questionnaires often are vague and misleading. As part of the investigation, state regulators asked Health Net officials on two separate occasions whether the company gave financial bonuses to its employees for rescinding policies. State law prohibits tying compensation to claims decisions. Both times, plan officials denied doing so."

Tuesday, November 06, 2007