Connecticut-based health insurer Aetna is calling off its public insurance exchange expansion plans for next year as it becomes the latest big insurer to cast doubt on the future of a key element of the Affordable Care Act.
The nation's third-largest insurer said on Tuesday that significant challenges faced by state exchanges are forcing the company to halt expansion and re-evaluate future participation in 15 states where it sells coverage.
Engineering Firm Charged Over Evaluations that Short-changed Sandy Victims
A New York engineering firm that was hired by insurance companies to evaluate damage caused by Superstorm Sandy is facing charges that it illegally altered reports prepared by field inspectors.
HiRise Engineering and one of its project managers are charged with felony fraud. He and the company deny wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty during an arraignment today on Long Island.
The Associated Press reports that the charges are the result of an investigation opened in 2014 by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman after lawyers for scores of New York and New Jersey homeowners filed civil lawsuits claiming that altered engineering reports had led to them getting less insurance money than they deserved.
OSHA Cites Connecticut Company
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Faria Beede Instruments in Uncasville for 11 serious violations, including obvious amputation, crushing, and electrical hazards.
The inspection of the maker of speed gauges is part of a national program to reduce possible amputations in workplaces.
The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and $44,000 in proposed penalties to comply, meet with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings.
