AXA Equitable Insurance Company has reached a settlement with the state regarding undisclosed changes to medical claim reimbursement policies.
The settlement requires AXA Equitable to pay restitution to members, in New York as well as outside the state, who were adversely impacted by the insurance company's actions.
State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman estimated that the cost of the settlement to AXA could be as high as $850,000.
A spokesman for AXA Equitable said the issue revolves around a transition period for outside vendor health insurance companies used to handle medical claims.
The state ordered all insurance companies in the state to change their vendors in 2009, according to Schneiderman and AXA Equitable officials, and the problem developed due to problems with the protocol used to calculate reimbursements.
The settlement required all health insurers in the state to use FAIR Health, Inc., which was created as part of the settlement as the data source for its medical claims reimbursement policy.
The issue deals with the industry's methods for determining out-of-network reimbursement for health insurance customers.
