HAUPPAUGE, N.Y., Oct. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Allstate Insurance Company is seeking to recover $4.5 million against five medical doctors, seven chiropractors and ten professional medical corporations along with one non professional in a scheme to allegedly bill insurance companies fraudulently for procedures, including procedures that were medically unnecessary and/or inappropriate. Since 2003, Allstate has filed 32 fraud lawsuits in New York State, seeking more than $175 million in damages.
According to the Insurance Information Institute, the state of New York is in an insurance fraud crisis and no-fault fraud is costing New Yorkers hundreds of millions of dollars year-after-year. "In essence, honest, hardworking New Yorkers are paying a "fraud tax," said Krista Conte, spokesperson for Allstate's New York office. "We need lawmakers to enact meaningful insurance reform that puts the citizens of New York first."
Allstate has filed counterclaims and a third party complaint alleging that two New York medical professional corporations – Cambridge Medical P.C. and Pine Hollow Medical, P.C. – were fraudulently incorporated through a scheme using the names of licensed medical physicians, and that a lay-owner, who was not a physician, secretly owned and controlled the medical professional corporations. Allstate's counterclaims and third party complaint further allege that these corporations fraudulently billed Allstate Insurance Company.
Cambridge had filed an action seeking to recover billing from Allstate and Allstate responded with its counterclaims and third party complaint. Allstate's claims were filed following an investigation by Allstate's Special Investigative Unit and seek reimbursement for personal injury protection benefits Allstate paid on behalf of its customers during time frames specified in the counterclaims and third party complaint. The counterclaims and third party complaint are the latest in a string of actions taken by the insurer to protect consumers from these and similar activities.
For more information on the dangers of insurance fraud, and how you can help fight it, please visit Fraud Costs NY at www.i-issues.com/new-york.
The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) is the nation's largest publicly held personal lines insurer known for its "You're In Good Hands With Allstate®" slogan. Now celebrating its 80th anniversary as an insurer, Allstate is reinventing protection and retirement to help nearly 16 million households insure what they have today and better prepare for tomorrow. Consumers access Allstate insurance products (auto, home, life and retirement) and services through Allstate agencies, independent agencies, and Allstate exclusive financial representatives in the U.S. and Canada, as well as via www.allstate.com and 1-800 Allstate®.
SOURCE Allstate Insurance Company