Business
Aetna pays $6.6 million in refunds in Maine
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted March 24, 2008
About 1,000 small groups insured through Aetna's PPO plan in Maine received premium refunds as a result of state insurance reforms adopted in 2003.
The plan paid the groups a total of $6.6 million in refunds, which varied in size depending on the length of time the groups had been enrolled with Aetna and the amount of premiums they had paid, company spokeswoman Susan Millerick said.
The Maine law establishing the subsidized insurance program Dirigo Health also set standards for how much of a company's income from premiums had to be used to pay claims.
Aetna's PPO plan failed to meet the 78% minimum premium to be spent on claims between July 1, 2004, and June 30, 2007, prompting the refund, the state said. Millerick said the event was an anomaly that was in part due to the company's having two separate entities in business in Maine, one that operated its PPO, and the other its POS and HMO plans.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/03/24/bibf0324.htm.
