News in brief - May 10, 2004
Health Net gets fined
Health Net gets fined
New York insurance officials fined Woodland Hills, Calif.-based Health Net $500,000, and the insurer agreed to refund about $5 million to policyholders in the state.
The New York State Insurance Dept. said Health Net used an outdated schedule to calculate reimbursements for out-of-network doctors and other medical professionals between July 1999 and December 2002. The insurers also sent out "defective" explanation of benefits forms to some policyholders from 2001 to 2003, the department said.
Health Net also is being investigated in Connecticut in connection with accusations of payment delays on claims, as well as use of the outdated reimbursement schedule, the Hartford Courant reported.
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