Medibank shares gaining after rival Bupa cops $35m fine
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: Health insurer Medibank has seen its share price lift for the second day in a row after UK-based rival Bupa agreed to a $35 million fine and admitted to misleading and deceptive conduct following a consumer watchdog investigation.
The numbers: Shares in Medibank were up 4.3% to $5.26 at 10:40am AEST, representing a 5.8% increase since the close price on 27 June.
It was announced on Monday that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and Bupa would jointly ask the Federal Court to order Bupa to pay a penalty of $35 million in addition to other orders.
The context: Following an ACCC investigation, Bupa admitted to misrepresentations regarding benefits eligibility between May 2018 and August 2023.
The health insurer also admitted to having stopped manually reviewing certain mixed coverage claims that had been automatically incorrectly assessed as having no benefits payable between June 2020 and February 2021.
Prior to the ACCC’s legal action, Bupa had already started paying compensation. It has paid $14.3 million to parties for more than 4100 affected claims and has entered into a court-enforceable undertaking to continue the remediation program.
The source: ACCC media release
