Two of Colorado’s largest insurance providers — Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield and the Hartford Group — have refunded about $5.7 million from miscalculated benefits and premiums, state officials said Thursday.
Anthem has already refunded $3.2 million to more than 7,200 Coloradans, and there may be more, whose health benefits were miscalculated because of a computer glitch.
Hartford is giving back more than $2.5 million in premiums it overcharged commercial auto-policy holders for “no-fault” coverage after the state repealed the requirement in July 2003.
“These errors, though not intentional, harmed consumers and businesses by imposing costs . . . where there should not have been costs,” state insurance commissioner Marcy Morrison said.
Anthem covers more than 800,000 Coloradans and switched computer systems in early 2006. Problems quickly caused claims to be denied, and some deductible payments weren’t registered, forcing customers to pay more.
“While it was Anthem’s intent to make this conversion painless . . . conversions of this magnitude are notoriously difficult,” Anthem spokeswoman Sally Vogler said.
Hartford’s average overcharge was $540, although some clients received as much as $20,000.
David Migoya: 303-954-1506 or dmigoya@denverpost.com
