Business
R.I. Blues repays members
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Jan. 31, 2005
BlueCross BlueShield of Rhode Island agreed in January to pay members and former members $17.5 million to settle accusations that the state's biggest health plan failed to pass discounts along to patients for medication and medical treatment.
Under the agreement, some 115,000 BlueCross subscribers will get cash payments ranging from $10 to $2,500, the Providence-based company said. The average payout will be $95. As part of the settlement, the company does not have to admit wrongdoing.
The settlement stems from class-action lawsuits filed in state and federal court in 1996, and which asked for $75 million in connection with BlueCross claims dating back six years.
In a statement, the Blues plan said the discrepancies between its contract provisions and what was actually paid to members "involve claims processing practices that were commonplace in the industry during the 1990s" but that those practices had ceased. UnitedHealth Group's New England subsidiary settled a similar suit for $4.4 million three years ago.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/01/31/bibf0131.htm.
