OLYMPIA — Washington state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s office has issued a Technical Assistance Advisory (TAA) (PDF, 326.04 KB) to all state health insurers as part of its ongoing response to the recent Change Healthcare cybersecurity event.

The TAA advises health insurers and health care benefit managers that any health care benefit managers they use must be registered with the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) to conduct business in Washington state. The legislature passed a law in 2020 requiring health care benefit managers to be registered with the…

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler has launched a podcast to provide consumers and listeners in the Evergreen State with additional information about the insurance industry and the OIC’s work. 

The podcast, “OIC Answers,” poses a question about an aspect of insurance in each episode, from how to get signed up for Medicare to why your car insurance rates change.  

“Our Consumer Advocacy division fields hundreds of calls from Washingtonians with questions about their insurance,”…

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler fined Coordinated Care Corporation $35,000 in March for incorrectly processing claims for telehealth services.

Due to a misconfiguration in the company’s system in 2022, a total of 1,872 telehealth claims were inadvertently billed for cost-shares of $177,344. The company corrected the issue and removed the cost shares from those claims.

March fines and consent orders

The fine was part of $255,000 in fines Kreidler’s office issued in March of 2024 for violations of state insurance laws and regulations.…

OLYMPIA — Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s office continues to monitor for impacts and disruptions to healthcare services caused by the recent cybersecurity event involving Change Healthcare. 

Change Healthcare is a subsidiary of United Health Group that also operates Optum Solutions. The February 21, 2024 event compromised systems widely used by providers and insurers to fill prescriptions, approve medical services, and submit costs for reimbursement. The result has been delays for some patients in getting necessary medication, prior…