A Massachusetts court ordered three health insurance companies affiliated with UnitedHealthcare to pay $165 million in damages to consumers and the state after an earlier finding the companies engaged in deceptive sales practices, the state attorney general's office said Monday.
Suffolk Superior Court Justice Hélène Kazanjian ruled that HealthMarkets Inc., and two subsidiaries, The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company and HealthMarkets Insurance Agency, must pay $50 million in restitution for Massachusetts consumers and $115 million in civil penalties to the state. The charges are a result of violations to a previous settlement agreement and Massachusetts law.
Key violations by the insurers include misleading customers into buying supplemental health insurance through deceptive "bundling" practices and agents misrepresenting themselves as impartial, licensed "insurance advisors," or representing all insurance carriers.
