You know how HealthAmerica won't pay for Kyler VanNocker's neuroblastoma treatment? Turns out the Harrisburg-based insurance company also tried to stiff more than 600 Pennsylvania policy-holders out of $445,981 worth of claims for Emergency Room treatment.
In a press release issued last Friday, state Attorney General Tom Corbett details how HealthAmerica allegedly rejected claims for emergency room treatment by using standards that were higher than the guidelines outlined in their insurance plans.
What a lovely company!
In a settlement with the state, HealthAmerica will now reprocess and pay those claims. Additionally, the insurer must change its claims-review procedures as well as pay $10,000 in civil penalties. The company is also on the hook for $50,025 to cover the cost of the claim investigation, attorney fees, court costs and future public protection and consumer education activities by the Attorney General's Office.
Meantime, Corbett advises that anyone with problems or concerns about claims involving HealthAmerica call the Attorney General's Health Care Hotline at 1-877-888-4877. You can also file an online complaint at www.attorneygeneral.gov (Click on the "Complaints" button near the top left corner of the website and select "Health Care Complaints" from the menu list).
When my phone rings here at the Daily News, nine times out of ten the caller begins the conversation with, “Yeah, so what happened was…”.
Because this is Philly, the caller doesn’t say, “My name is Bob” – or Mary – “and I wonder if I could have a moment of your time?” Philadelphians are too direct for that. They just say, “Yeah, so what happened was…”, and then tumble into a tale they think oughta be shared with a wider audience. I love getting these calls (even the ones where it becomes clear, after 30 seconds, where the caller sowed the seeds of his own misery), because they give me chance to connect with fellow citizens in a way that no other job allows. Well, okay, no other job for which I’m remotely qualified.
That’s why my blog is titled “So What Happened Was…”. To me, it’s the quintessentially Philly way of saying, “Once upon a time.” When I hear it, I know a good story is coming. And I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
Ronnie Polaneczky has been an award-winning columnist for The Philadelphia Daily News since 1999, offering a front-steps perspective on every aspect of city life, from the sublime to the stupid. In her past life, she was the editor-in-chief of Atlantic City Magazine, associate editor at Philadelphia Magazine and a fulltime freelancer published in Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, Redbook, Reader's Digest, Men's Health, MarieClaire and others. She lives with her husband, daughter and various pets in the city's Fairmount section, where she dreams of one day singing The National Anthem at an Eagles game. In addition to her column and blog, you can enjoy Ronnie's musings in podcast form here.
Read more from Ronnie Polaneczky at Earth to Philly, the Daily News blog on anything and everything "Green
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