Aetna Sued By Anti-Tobacco Lawyers In Mississippi
10/07/99
A group of lawyers prominent in the fight by state attorneys general against the tobacco industry filed a federal racketeering suit against Aetna Inc.'s health maintenance unit Thursday.
The suit, filed in federal court in Hattiesburg, Miss., was the second one in two days against Aetna alleging wrongdoing by its U.S. Healthcare operation.
The Mississippi suit alleges that Aetna systematically limited, delayed or denied medical care to its 18 million HMO enrollees. Defendants in the suit include 25 subsidiaries.
The lawsuit alleged the health insurer engaged in a ''nationwide fraudulent scheme'' to enroll members by promising quality health care, then denying needed services to boost corporate profits and dominate the HMO marketplace.
This is the third class action filed against a major HMO this week. Another Aetna case was filed in Philadelphia, and a suit against Humana Inc. was brought in Miami.
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