United Healthcare Insurance Co. and its sister companies face $750,000 in fines "for delaying payment on thousands of health claims," Georgia officials said.
"It is unfortunate that fines must be imposed to encourage compliance," Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine said in a news release. "Consumers and doctors deserve prompt payment."
He added: "My office is reviewing data from other insurance companies, and we expect more fines in the near future."
Also included in the fine were United Healthcare of Georgia Inc., American Medical Security Life Insurance Co. and Golden Rule Insurance Co.
The Atlanta Business Chronicle quoted United Healthcare as saying that 97 percent of claims were handled within 15 days.
"This settlement involves only the small percentage of claims not processed within 15 days," United Healthcare said in a statement, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle. "Timely and accurate payment is important and UnitedHealthcare processes 99 percent of claims for its Georgia customers within 30 days."
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