New Lawsuit Alleges Unitedhealth/Pacificare Deceived Cancer Patient

New Lawsuit Alleges Pacificare Set Course Of Deception To Avoid Claims and Cancel Policy of 34 Year Old Kidney Cancer Patient To Increase Company Profits.

Irvine, CA (PRWeb) November 18, 2006 -- UnitedHealth Group, the nations second largest health insurer, and its subsidiary Pacificare of California were named in a lawsuit yesterday for canceling the health insurance policy and refusing to pay medical bills after a cancer patient sought treatment. (D'ANNA vs PACIFICARE OF CALIFORNIA #GIN057028)

The lawsuit was filed in the Superior Court of San Diego by attorneys Robert K. Scott and Scott Mahoney of the Irvine-based Law Offices of Robert K. Scott. The lawsuit adds UnitedHealth Group and Pacificare of California to the growing list of California insurers who have been accused of revoking health care polices after patients get sick.

UnitedHealth Group Inc Thursday announced a 38% jump in its third-quarter earnings, aided by gains from last years PacifiCare acquisition. Recent revelations of a "conflict of interest" have been reported at the DMHC during hearings on the merger between UnitedHealth and Pacificare in California.

"I was repulsed when I learned that the CEO of UnitedHealth Group had 1.6 Billion in stock options while I am being harassed by collection agencies for the medical bills Pacificare refused to pay", said Salvatore D'Anna, the Plaintiff in the lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit filed yesterday, UnitedHealth Group and Pacificare of California allegedly failed to properly manage the patient's cancer treatment and withheld information that put his life in jeopardy to avoid the cost of a second surgery to remove his kidney because of remaining cancer reported in his Pathology report.

Pacificare allegedly withheld the coverage decision for the second surgery until the patient flew across the country for the procedure. Submitted documents indicate Pacificare informed the patient the day before the surgery that they were denying coverage which forced the patient to ask his parents to loan him $25,000 for a down payment on the surgery. When the patient returned home, instead of offering to pay for the surgery, Pacificare allegedly sent a letter that purported to cancel the policy.

The Complaint against UnitedHealth Group and Pacificare can be read here.

About The Law Offices of Robert K. Scott (www.robertkscott.com):

For over thirty years, The Law Offices of Robert K. Scott has sued insurance companies on behalf of both individual consumers and businesses against the abuses of the insurance industry. This area of law is known as "insurance bad faith." Our goal is to vigorously fight to protect your rights and to achieve maximum results for you.

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Press Contact: Robert K. Scott
Company Name: The Law Offices of Robert K Scott
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Phone: 949-753-4950
Website: www.robertkscott.com

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