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Humana
will pay Wisconsin $750,000 to settle
charges over sale of Medicare Advantage,
Prescription Drug Plans
[Sep 11, 2008] Humana
has agreed to pay $750,000 to the Wisconsin
Office of the
Commissioner of Insurance to
settle allegations that some of the
company's agents who sold Medicare Advantage
and Medicare prescription drug plans in the
state were unlicensed and in violation of
other insurance laws, the
Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel reports.
State Insurance Commissioner Sean Dilweg, who
also chairs a
National Association
of Insurance Commissioners task
force on senior issues, launched an
investigation of Humana's marketing
practices in response to 683 complaints from
consumers that the state received between
Jan. 1, 2006, and May this year and as a
follow-up to an earlier probe.
Dilweg last year testified at a Senate
hearing on
the issue of insurers' aggressive marketing
practices.
According to Humana, Wisconsin state
regulators found problems with 62 of the
company's 5,288 agents and less than 0.1% of
the health plans that were sold. In a
statement, the company said, "Even one such
error is too many, and we are committed to
addressing these issues quickly and
thoroughly."
Dilweg said, "We had agents that really weren't
properly certified or licensed selling
(insurance) products, and that is a huge
concern because they may not be suitable for
seniors."
Dilweg declined to confirm if his office is
reviewing the MA plan marketing practices of
other insurers, but said that
CMS must
increase its efforts to help consumers who
bought the health plans under the improper
conditions. He said, "Right now, my hands
are tied as it relates to some of the
company abuses" (Marley/Boulton,
Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel, 9/9).
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