Fraud Bust Could Keep Health Insurance Quotes Reasonable

New Yorkers may get a break on their health insurance quotes now that state officials have broken up a large fraud ring.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced this week that 12 people and nine corporations in the New York City area had been charged in an insurance scam that bilked insurance companies out of more than $1 million.

According to Cuomo, the scam involved the owner of two medical clinics and other defendants who would allegedly pay hospital employees to lure patients involved in minor motor vehicle accidents to the clinics. Once there, the patients would receive a variety of unnecessary treatments that are generally covered under the state's no-fault insurance law.

The announcement noted that the defendants include a personal injury lawyer, two medical doctors, three acupuncturists, two chiropractors and a number of other healthcare providers, illustrating how broad-based the scheme was. At least two hospital employees were also apparently charged with accepting bribes in conjunction with the scheme.

Fraud is a crime that costs insurers everywhere millions of dollars each year, and this is passed on to consumers in the form of higher health insurance quotes.

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