By AP/KWMU
Jefferson City, MO – A suburban St. Louis health plan has been
fined for failing to process claims from doctors and patients quickly enough.
The state Insurance Department says Mercy Health Plans of Chesterfied recently paid the state slightly more than $100,000. The fine was imposed after the state found that the HMO failed to meet time limits for handling claims filed by doctors and
patients.
The fine was the first levied under the so-called prompt-pay measure passed by lawmakers in 2001 and enacted in January 2002.
Insurance officials say Mercy operated the second largest HMO in Missouri with more than 173,000 members at the end of 2002.
The company accounts for about one-sixth of all HMO enrollments in Missouri.