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Million-Dollar Fine for Aetna

Eric P
/
Creative Commons

Health insurer Aetna has been fined $1 million, after it misled its members about which pharmacies were in its network. The Hartford based company was was given a civil penalty by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), after complaints from consumers soared this year. 

The federal agency said websites and customer service agents for Aetna gave inaccurate information to consumers, saying that almost 7,000 pharmacies were in-network, which in fact were not. That left patients having to pay out of pocket at the pharmacy, or leave without their medications. CMS described the problem as errors in the insurer's network directory.

Aetna issued a statement which noted that its Part D pharmacy networks have reduced premiums for members, and saying "a select number of pharmacies were listed incorrectly as participating in some of Aetna's Part D pharmacy networks. These issues were swiftly resolved, and the majority of pharmacies and our members were not affected by this situation. We strive to provide our members high quality coverage, with high satisfaction, at the best value, and take this matter very seriously."  

Carmen Anthony Closures

The Carmen Anthony chain of family owned restaurants has put two more of its locations up for sale. The restaurants in New Haven and Waterbury were closed at the end of the Easter weekend, with the loss of 70 jobs. Once a group of five restaurants, just one location in Woodbury, now remains open.

House Price Decline

Connecticut was the only state in the nation to post an overall decline in housing prices in February, according to CoreLogic. Prices in the Nutmeg state slipped just less than one percent, as short sales and foreclosures continued to weigh down the market. The nation as a whole saw a more than five percent bump in prices in February, compared to the same month a year ago. Home prices in Connecticut continue to be almost 25 percent lower than their pre-recession highs.

Harriet Jones is Managing Editor for Connecticut Public Radio, overseeing the coverage of daily stories from our busy newsroom.

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