Cigna sues Health Diagnostic Laboratory for fee-forgiving fraud

Cigna hit Health Diagnostic Laboratory Inc. with a $84 million suit Wednesday in Connecticut federal court, alleging the company failed to charge Cigna insurance plan members for out-of-network services and paid referral fees to the in-network providers that encouraged them to violate their contracts. Cigna claimed that Richmond, Virginia-based HDL had engaged in an ongoing, fraudulent “fee-forgiving” scheme that involves luring Cigna members to use the company’s health-testing services by telling them they don’t have to pay for their share of the cost, then charging exorbitant reimbursement rates for thousands of claims to Cigna, violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and other federal and state laws.