WellPoint’s IT woes taking toll; St. Francis contract dispute just the latest problem involving tardy payments

A year of computer snafus boiled over Oct. 13 when the St. Francis hospital system declared WellPoint Inc. in breach of its contract because of habitually late payments.

Those computer problems already have helped to wipe out the Indianapolis-based health insurer’s expected profit growth for the year. And some analysts fear WellPoint will continue to lose customers and market share until the end of 2009.

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Insurance Cancellation Questions Could Spread Beyond California

Today’s Health Blog jargon of the day is rescission, the insurance industry’s practice of revoking individual insurance policies because of health-related mistakes or omissions on the application for coverage. ...

... Now it looks like the push-back against rescission may be spreading. Henry Waxman, a Democratic California Congressman, held a hearing on the subject yesterday and said his oversight committee plans to investigate the issue nationally.

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WellPoint Agrees To Pay $11.8M to California Hospitals Over Health Insurance Policy Cancellations

Via the indispensable Avedon Carol: Rich, powerful corporations can break the law

California regulators admitted Thursday that for more than a year they didn't even try to enforce a million-dollar fine against health insurer Anthem Blue Cross because they knew they would be outgunned in court.

In early 2007, the Department of Managed Health Care pledged to fine the state's largest insurer for "routinely rescinding health insurance policies in violation of state law."

But it never did.

That is a real good reason to not do business with Anthem Blue Cross.