Insurer pays for health exchange fumbles

Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield will reimburse three weeks of premium payments to an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 New Yorkers who enrolled in Empire health insurance plans in the state”™s new online health insurance marketplace, New York State of Health.

The insurer”™s action, announced Sunday by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, followed a probe by the state Department of Financial Services into complaints about Empire”™s handling of enrollments on the exchange, including sending out member identification cards late, failing to send out bills on time and failing to properly transfer direct-pay enrollees into their new plans.

Empire agreed to make cash payments to consumers who paid premium amounts for January but did not receive care during that period. State officials said Empire has also committed $2 million to consumer education to encourage enrollment of the uninsured and others in health care coverage through the state exchange.

“We”™re pleased that the company stepped up to acknowledge the issue and move to make progress toward fixing it,” state Superintendent of Financial Services Benjamin M. Lawsky said in the announcement.