UnitedHealth Hit With $1M Fine for Failing To Comply With NY Contraceptive Law

UnitedHealth Group UNH has agreed to a $1 million penalty for failing to cover all federally approved birth control methods as required by New York state law.

The settlement, announced by New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday, mandates that UnitedHealthcare of New York also refund individuals who were wrongfully denied coverage.

Eligible consumers will receive payment in the mail and those with potential claims will be notified and asked to submit a claim.

Related: Post UnitedHealth Cyberattack, Community Health Centers Face Prolonged Disruption.

The agreement resolves an investigation initiated by a complaint from a Brooklyn patient whose prescribed oral contraceptive was denied by the insurer.

New York’s Comprehensive Contraceptive Coverage Act (CCCA), effective since 2020, requires insurers to cover FDA-approved contraceptives without copays, restrictions, or delays.

The CCCA also requires health insurers to cover at least one version of approved contraceptives if there are multiple therapeutically equivalent drugs.  

Reuters notes that the state law extends beyond the federal Affordable Care Act, which does not mandate coverage for all FDA-approved contraceptives without restrictions.

Patients who paid out-of-pocket for contraception can file claims for reimbursement, with an additional 12% interest, through James’ office.

UnitedHealthcare apologized for the delay in access to a specific brand of progestin-only oral contraceptive in New York and is working to resolve these claims with its members.

Reuters notes that UnitedHealth recently issued a notice regarding a ransomware attack on its Change Healthcare unit.

The February hack, carried out by the Russian ransomware gang BlackCat, potentially exposed private data for an estimated one-third of the country.

UnitedHealth stated it will begin mailing notification letters to affected individuals in late July and is offering free credit monitoring for two years.

Recently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it plans to close the advance payments program, which has started to help some Medicare providers and suppliers affected by disruptions at UnitedHealth’s Change Healthcare technology unit.

Price Action: UNH shares are up 0.37% at $486.33 at last check Friday.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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