Anthem Blue Cross will pay a $1-million fine and offer new coverage to 2,330 members it dropped between 2004 and 2008, the Los Angeles Times reports. Anthem, California’s largest health insurance provider, will also offer to pay for the medical expenses accrued by former members after the insurance provider dropped them. Reimbursements for such expenses could be as high as $14 million. Anthem’s decision to invite dropped members back and pay for their medical bills derives from a deal it made with the California Department of Insurance. CDI was slated to prosecute Anthem over its finding that the company broke state laws when it rescinded members with large medical bills during a four-year timeframe. In a prepared statement, Anthem President and CEO Leslie A. Margolin said that members will be contacted within 90 days to receive information on participating in the settlement. “Under the terms of the settlement, Anthem Blue Cross Life will invite these consumers to purchase coverage on a go-forward basis, regardless of past or present medical conditions,” Margolin said in the statement. Last year, Anthem agreed to pay a $10-million fine to settle similar charges involving 1,770 members in HMO-type policies overseen by the Department of Managed Health Care, the Times reports. For the past two years, state regulators have launched investigations into health insurers that use questionable tactics to rescind coverage to sick members. Nadra Kareem
