Humana Fraud

Humana Fraud

January 9, 2002 (West Palm Beach, Florida) -- The law firm of Ricci~Leopold, P.A. , PA, has filed a civil suit against Humana, Inc., Humana Medical Plan, Inc., and Bill Torres, on behalf of Linda R. Flower. Ms. Flower has multiple sclerosis..

Prior to enrolling in the Humana Gold Plus Plan, Ms. Flower received her health services coverage through a Medicare HMO Plan administered by AvMed, Inc. In the summer of 2000, AvMed, Inc. stopped insuring residents of Palm Beach County.

In August of 2000, Ms. Flower, who suffers from multiple sclerosis (MS), contacted "Humana" to inquire about health coverage. She met with Bill Torres, a sales representative and agent of the Humana Defendants, at her home to obtain information about the Humana Gold Plus Plan. At that time, Mr. Torres promised that under Humana, Ms. Flower's treatment for MS by her longtime treating neurologist, Dr. Sheremata, would be covered. Mr. Torres specifically told Ms. Flower that Dr. Sheremata was a Humana doctor, that she would have no problems whatsoever continuing to treat with him and that the treatments would be covered by Humana.

In April 2001, Ms. Flower suffered an exacerbation of her MS. She immediately called her primary physician, to obtain a referral to Dr. Sheremata. Human, Inc. denied the referral because Dr. Sheremata was allegedly out of the network.

Ms. Flowers has alleged in her complaint against the Humana Defendants and Mr. Torres a cause of action for fraud in the inducement, intentional infliction of emotional distress and civil conspiracy.

Founded in 1982, Ricci~Leopold, P.A. , PA has built a reputation as one of the most successful personal injury law firms in Florida. The firm represents individuals who have been wrongfully injured in matters involving automotive crashworthiness, managed care litigation, insurance bad faith and coverage disputes, and personal injury. The firm has seven attorneys and is headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida. For additional information, please visit the firm's website at www.riccilaw.com.