BUSINESSNews in brief - Feb. 22, 2010WellPoint board chair retiring; CEO Braly to succeed him - Aetna pays $750,000 fine for Healthy New York program violations - Payer portal project expands to New Jersey WellPoint board chair retiring; CEO Braly to succeed himIndianapolis-based WellPoint announced Feb. 3 that Larry Glasscock would retire as chair of its board of directors effective March 1. Angela Braly, who has been the company's CEO since 2005, will succeed him, as she did when Glasscock stepped down as CEO. Aetna pays $750,000 fine for Healthy New York program violationsNew York officials found that Aetna failed to properly administer benefits as a contractor for the state's Healthy New York program and fined the company $750,000. Healthy New York is a state-subsidized health insurance program for small business owners and their employees and others whose employers do not offer health insurance. The company paid the fine and said it had corrected the problems identified by the state's review. The New York State Insurance Dept. found that Aetna had failed to provide the required 30-day notice of rate increases to individual members; failed to tell more than 1,400 members it dropped that they had a right to convert to another policy; and didn't report enrollment figures to the state as required. The state said the problems occurred between April 2007 and January 2009. Aetna admitted no wrongdoing. Payer portal project expands to New JerseyAmerica's Health Insurance Plans is expanding its multipayer portal project, which launched in Ohio last year, to the state of New Jersey. AHIP is teaming up with New Jersey's largest health plans, which represent more than 95% of the state's residents, to launch a Web portal at which physicians can conduct all their financial transactions with payers. In addition to financial transactions, the portal, built by technology vendor NaviNet, also will provide a one-stop service where practices can check eligibility, benefit information and deductibles, and receive real-time information on the status of claims. Also participating in the project is the Medical Society of New Jersey and other specialty physician organizations. AHIP is working with the BlueCross BlueShield Assn. to launch similar pilot programs in several regions and states across the country. This content was published online only. Copyright 2010 American Medical Association. All rights reserved. |
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