Four health insurance companies paid a combined $280,000 in fines to the Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA) for selling unapproved health insurance plans to college students in Maryland, regulators announced last week.
Student health benefit plans are only available to be purchased through a college or university. Beginning Jan. 1, 2014, all student health plans offered in Maryland were required to meet the same coverage and cost-sharing standards as all other individual health plans in Maryland.
MIA said that when the 2014-15 school year began and only one company had updated its filings, the MIA launched an investigation into all student health plans.
Over the past five weeks, MIA said, consent orders were issued against Aetna Life Insurance Co., CareFirst of Maryland Inc., National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh, and UnitedHealthcare Insurance Co.
The final order was signed last week. Fines ranged from $20,000 to $140,000, depending on the number of colleges to which a company was selling plans.
Regulators said students who believe they were improperly denied coverage for a procedure or visit, or who believe they were overcharged, should contact the MIA at 1-800-492-6116.
Source: Maryland Insurance Administration
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