US health giant accused of improperly rejecting thousands of patient claims using an algorithm

The company used an algorithm called PXDX, shorthand for 'procedure-to-diagnosis,' to identify whether claims met certain requirements, spending an average of just 1.2 seconds on each review, according to the lawsuit. — AP

SACRAMENTO: A federal lawsuit alleges that health insurance giant Cigna used a computer algorithm to automatically reject hundreds of thousands of patient claims without examining them individually as required by California law.

The class-action lawsuit, filed Monday (July 24) in federal court in Sacramento, says Cigna Corp and Cigna Health and Life Insurance Co rejected more than 300,000 payment claims in just two months last year.