A judge has ordered three UnitedHealth-owned insurance companies to pay more than $165 million following a lawsuit that alleges the companies misled customers into paying for additional health insurance.
Suffolk County Superior Court Judge Helene Kazanjian said HealthMarkets, acquired by UnitedHealth in 2019, and two subsidiaries deceived thousands of Massachusetts customers into buying supplemental policies. Judge Kazanjia said the insurers intentionally targeted “vulnerable customers who could least afford their products” and described their actions as “particularly egregious,” InsuranceNewsNet reported.
The lawsuit against UnitedHealth companies dates back to 2006, when the then-Attorney General accused HealthMarkets of misleading marketing tactics. The state reopened the case in 2020, alleging that the company violated the state’s consumer protection law. The state charged the insurance companies with deceptively leading consumers into buying more than $43.5 million in insurance products and violating a prior consent judgment that protected consumers.
Judge Orders Insurance Company To Pay Millions Following Lawsuit
The Superior Court found the insurance companies liable for
violating the consent judgment and the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act in 2022. According to the court, the insurance companies deceived consumers about their sales agents, insurance products, advertisements that claimed sales agents were objective, and misrepresentation that sales agents represented all insurance carriers involved in the suit when they did not.All three companies are based in Texas but have operated in Massachusetts and other states. The court ordered the companies to pay $50 million in restitution for consumers and $115 million in civil penalties.
The judge’s ruling comes after UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson was murdered outside a New York City hotel. Since his death, there has been an outpouring of criticism from Americans toward the insurance industry. Social media users voiced their frustrations about a “broken system,” accusing insurance companies of denying medical claims.
In a statement to Insurance NewsNet, UnitedHealthcare said it plans to appeal the judgment.
“We disagree with the Massachusetts court’s latest ruling in the litigation involving the HealthMarkets
companies,” a spokesperson said. “The fundamental errors in this ruling compound those already made by the trial court earlier in this case and have resulted in a decision unsupported by the evidence and contrary to established Massachusetts law.”RELATED CONTENT: Power Restored To 98% Of Puerto Rico After New Year’s Eve Blackout