>Aetna sues doctors over bills it calls ‘excessive’
Friday, March 25, 2011
BY MARY JO LAYTON AND LINDY WASHBURN
THE RECORD
STAFF WRITERS
One of the nation’s largest insurers has sued six North Jersey physicians over bills it considers “unlawful and excessive,” including $56,980 for a 25-minute bedside consultation.
In one case, Aetna Inc. claims it paid a Ridgewood neurosurgery practice $3.9 million more than it was entitled to receive. It also alleges the practice billed a patient $116,000, even after the insurer had provided payment in full.
In another case, Aetna claims a cardiologist at Hackensack University Medical Center increased his charges more than sixfold for catheterizations, from $3,000 to $18,720. The fees drove his income from Aetna up from $155,310 in 2006 to $2.5 million in 2008, according to the lawsuit obtained by The Record on Thursday
https://www.northjersey.com/news/118635344_Aetna_sues_doctors_over_bills_it_calls__excessive_.html
