Valley
News (West Lebanon, NH) The Associated Press December
4, 2019
MONTPELIER,
Vt. — Vermont has reached a $1.8 million settlement with a company that sold
unapproved and inadequate student health insurance policies at 10 of the
state’s colleges and universities, financial regulators announced Tuesday.
The
settlement with Companion Life Insurance Co., of Columbia, S.C., is the
Department of Financial Regulation’s largest settlement with an insurance
company, Commissioner Michael Pieciak said at a news conference.
“This
is a significant penalty,” Pieciak said. “If you look around at insurance
penalties across the country, this is not just significant as it relates to
Vermont, but nationwide as well.”
The
state says the company offered health insurance to more than 2,500 Vermont
students in school years 2014-2016. If those policies had been submitted to the
state, they would not have been approved because they did not comply with
Vermont law or the federal Affordable Care Act, the state said.
Some of
the shortcomings included not providing complete coverage for mental health
coverage; substance abuse treatment; preventative screenings, including testing
for sexually transmitted diseases; or contraceptive management. The insurance
also did not provide adequate coverage for athletic injuries, immunizations and
some general illnesses, Pieciak said.
As a
result, hundreds of claims were improperly denied, and 212 students will share
$481,000 in restitution for improperly denied claims.
In
addition to the student restitution, Companion will pay a $950,000
administrative penalty to the state of Vermont, $225,000 to Vermont Legal Aid
and $150,000 to the Vermont Financial Services Education and Victim Restitution
Fund.
Companion
did not respond to a phone message or email seeking comment. But the settlement
agreement signed by Companion President John Wilbur said the company alleges
the failure to submit documents to the state was due to an error on the part of
certain employees.
After
the company learned of the unapproved rates and forms, it “worked diligently”
with the state to receive approval for the forms used during the 2016-2017
academic year, the settlement agreement said.
The
company is not currently offering student health insurance policies in Vermont.
The
company has also taken steps to ensure such problems do not occur again.
The
insurance plans were included as a line item on student tuition bills at 10
Vermont schools.
Excellent and very exciting site. Love to watch. Keep Rocking. anchor
ReplyDelete