CMS fines 17 insurers for violating Medicare Rx plan rules

Modern Healthcare: The CMS slapped nearly half of the health plans offering Medicare prescription drug benefits with fines for improperly denying beneficiaries access to drugs and other services.

The fines were a result of a 2016 audit of 37 health plans made public this week. The agency issued fines to 17 of those plans.

It fined Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealthcare, the nation's largest insurer, $2.5 million for failing to comply with a range of Medicare prescription drug requirements. The 17 insurers were fined a total of $7.3 million.

Violations of the Medicare Advantage Part D prescription drug requirements led to reduced access to medical services and drugs, the CMS said.

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