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Report: Insurance Company Had Policy Targeting HIV-Positive Policyholders

HeadlineMar 18, 2010

The Reuters news agency is reporting the insurance company formerly known as Fortis had a specific policy automatically targeting policyholders with HIV. The company, now known as Assurant Health, established a computer program and algorithm that subjected every HIV-positive policyholder to an automatic fraud investigation. The so-called “investigations” were used to revoke the policyholders’ insurance, often on wrong information, flimsy evidence, or no evidence at all. Last year, the South Carolina state Supreme Court ordered Fortis to pay $10 million in damages for rescinding the health coverage of a policyholder who had tested positive for HIV.

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