California health insurer PacifiCare is facing up to $9.9 billion in fines from regulators that claim the insurer repeatedly mismanaged medical claims and failed to pay physicians what they were owed, according to a Los Angeles Times report.
The California Department of Insurance claims the insurer, which is owned by UnitedHealth Group, violated state law more than 990,000 times from 2006 to 2008. The state is seeking fines as high as $10,000 per violation.
PacifiCare and UnitedHealth Group are arguing against the fines in a now 10-month-long legal hearing that could conclude as early as next month, according to the report. A spokesperson from PacifiCare said in the report the errors were administrative and did not involve failure to pay claims.
Read the Los Angeles Times report on PacifiCare.
The California Department of Insurance claims the insurer, which is owned by UnitedHealth Group, violated state law more than 990,000 times from 2006 to 2008. The state is seeking fines as high as $10,000 per violation.
PacifiCare and UnitedHealth Group are arguing against the fines in a now 10-month-long legal hearing that could conclude as early as next month, according to the report. A spokesperson from PacifiCare said in the report the errors were administrative and did not involve failure to pay claims.
Read the Los Angeles Times report on PacifiCare.