Anthem Blue Cross agrees to take back clients, pay $1-million fine

Anthem Blue Cross, California's largest for-profit health insurer, has agreed to pay a $1-million fine and offer new coverage to 2,330 people it dropped after they submitted bills for expensive medical care. As part of a deal with the California Department of Insurance, Anthem also will offer to reimburse those people for medical expenses that they paid out of pocket after they were dropped. The company estimated that those reimbursements could reach $14 million. In exchange, California agreed to drop its prosecution of its accusation that the company broke state laws in the way it rescinded members in preferred provider organization policies between 2004 and 2008.