Latest news with #GinaCass-Gottlieb
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bupa fined A$35m for misleading Australians on health claims
Private health insurer Bupa has been fined A$35m ($22.8m) after admitting to misleading or deceptive conduct that led more than 4,000 Australians to forgo claiming hospital treatments they were entitled to. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced the penalty, stating that Bupa had acknowledged breaches in its handling of customer claims. The ACCC revealed that Bupa incorrectly informed policyholders they were not eligible for private health insurance benefits, resulting in some customers paying thousands of dollars for medical treatments that should have been at least partially covered. In some cases, policyholders upgraded to more expensive policies to secure coverage they believed they lacked. ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said: 'Consumers purchase private health insurance to provide peace of mind, certainty of coverage and the ability to choose where and when to undertake their procedures. Bupa's conduct denied certain members benefits to which they were entitled to under their private health insurance policies.' She noted that the conduct, spanning across five years, caused harm to consumers, with some delaying, cancelling, or going without treatments they were covered for. Bupa APAC chief executive Nick Stone said: 'Our priority has been to communicate and compensate our affected health insurance customers and providers, along with putting in place measures to help ensure this does not happen again.' The company has already paid A$14.3m to address more than 4,100 affected claims. The misconduct involved two types of insurance claims between May 2018 and August 2023: 'mixed cover claims' and 'uncategorised items.' Mixed cover claims involve treatments partially covered by a customer's policy and partially by the customer, while uncategorised items refer to treatments not assigned to a standard clinical category in Bupa's systems. According to Bupa, mixed coverage claims accounted for less than 0.02% of assessed customers, and uncategorised items represented about 0.004% of claims over the period. The ACCC attributed Bupa's errors to inadequate staff training and unclear instructions for assessing mixed coverage claims, compounded by systems programmed to incorrectly reject both mixed coverage and uncategorised item claims. Cass-Gottlieb said: 'Private health insurance is complex, and consumers should be able to trust their health insurer to assess and pay health insurance claims accurately. Bupa's conduct is very serious and falls well short of what is expected of one of the largest health insurers in Australia. 'Bupa should have invested in the necessary systems, processes and training to prevent this from happening, and address it promptly when it occurred.' The ACCC and Bupa will jointly request a court order for the A$35m penalty and other measures, with the court to determine the appropriateness of the penalty. Bupa began compensating affected members, medical providers, and hospitals prior to the legal action. "Bupa fined A$35m for misleading Australians on health claims" was originally created and published by Life Insurance International, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Perth Now
30-06-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Health insurer fined $35m, misled 4k members
Private health insurer Bupa has been fined $35m after conceding it engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct to talk more than 4000 Australians out of claiming hospital treatments. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said in a statement on Monday that Bupa admitted to the breaches after telling customers they were not entitled to private health insurance benefits for their claims, even though they were entitled to make a claim. This left some customers thousands of dollars out of pocket for medical treatments they had to pay for when Bupa should have paid at least part of the bill. Bupa was fined $35m for misrepresenting customers. NewsWire / Nicholas Eagar Credit: NewsWire The ACCC said some policyholders also upgraded to more expensive policies to ensure they were covered. ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said Bupa's conduct affected thousands of members over more than five years and caused harm to consumers, some of whom delayed, cancelled or went without treatment for which they were, at least partially, covered under their health insurance policies. 'Consumers purchase private health insurance to provide peace of mind, certainty of coverage and the ability to choose where and when to undertake their procedures,' Ms Cass-Gottlieb said. 'Bupa's conduct denied certain members benefits to which they were entitled to under their private health insurance policies.' Bupa APAC chief executive Nick Stone said he was deeply sorry for failing to get things right because customers were saddened by the impacts this has had on them or their families. 'Our priority has been to communicate and compensate our affected health insurance customers and providers, along with putting in place measures to help ensure this does not happen again,' Mr Stone said. Bupa has admitted over a five-year period between May 2018 and August 2023 that it misrepresented members over two separate insurance types – 'mixed cover claims' and 'uncategorised items'. A mixed cover claim includes both treatment that is covered in part by a customer's policy and another part covered by the customer itself. Bupa admits the issues occurred between May 2018 and August 2023. NewsWire/Tertius Pickard Credit: News Corp Australia According to Bupa, the private health insurer pays out more than $20m in claims a year as well as six million in-hospital and medical claims, with the mixed coverage claims representing less than 0.02 per cent of assessed customers over the five-year period. Similarly, Bupa says about 0.004 per cent of claims fall under uncategorised items, which include treatments that were not assigned to a standard clinical category in Bupa's claims assessment systems. The ACCC says Bupa's conduct occurred because Bupa staff did not have consistent and clear instructions and training for assessing mixed coverage claims, and its systems were programmed to incorrectly reject mixed coverage and uncategorised item claims. 'Private health insurance is complex, and consumers should be able to trust their health insurer to assess and pay health insurance claims accurately,' Ms Cass-Gottlieb said. 'Bupa's conduct is very serious and falls well short of what is expected of one of the largest health insurers in Australia. Bupa should have invested in the necessary systems, processes and training to prevent this from happening, and address it promptly when it occurred.' The ACCC and Bupa will jointly ask the court to order Bupa to pay a penalty of $35m among other orders. It is a matter for the court to determine whether the penalty and other orders are appropriate. Bupa started compensating affected members, medical providers and hospitals before the start of this legal action and has paid $14.3m for more than 4100 affected claims.
The Age
26-06-2025
- Business
- The Age
Climate-friendly gas claims challenged in landmark ACCC greenwash case
As oil and gas companies talk up their initiatives to shift to less-polluting fuels of the future, the national consumer watchdog wants to draw a line in the sand limiting how far those claims can go. On Thursday the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched a landmark lawsuit alleging millions of Australians were misled by a series of advertisements suggesting the gas that flows into household heaters and stovetops could be 'renewable' within a generation. Gas distribution company Australian Gas Networks ran an advertising campaign called 'Love Gas' in 2022 and 2023, featuring a father and his young daughter using gas-powered appliances for cooking, heating and bathing. The advertisement then fast-forwards in time to show the daughter, now an adult, engaging in the same activities. 'Some things will never change, but the flame we use will,' said the voiceover in the ad. 'It's becoming renewable.' As the gradual switch to all-electric homes threatens to leave billions of dollars of gas pipeline infrastructure as stranded assets, the promise of cleaner fuels – such as gases made from organic waste or hydrogen – being blended with and one day replacing polluting methane gas used in homes and businesses has become one of the industry's main survival plans. Loading But renewable gases are not yet commonly used nor available to residential gas customers. The ACCC alleges Australian Gas Networks' advertising overstated the likelihood it could overcome 'significant technological and economic barriers' within the time frame it suggested. 'It is not currently possible to distribute renewable gas at scale and at an economically viable price, and throughout 2022 and 2023 it was highly uncertain whether, and if so, when, this would be possible,' ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.
Sydney Morning Herald
26-06-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Climate-friendly gas claims challenged in landmark ACCC greenwash case
As oil and gas companies talk up their initiatives to shift to less-polluting fuels of the future, the national consumer watchdog wants to draw a line in the sand limiting how far those claims can go. On Thursday the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched a landmark lawsuit alleging millions of Australians were misled by a series of advertisements suggesting the gas that flows into household heaters and stovetops could be 'renewable' within a generation. Gas distribution company Australian Gas Networks ran an advertising campaign called 'Love Gas' in 2022 and 2023, featuring a father and his young daughter using gas-powered appliances for cooking, heating and bathing. The advertisement then fast-forwards in time to show the daughter, now an adult, engaging in the same activities. 'Some things will never change, but the flame we use will,' said the voiceover in the ad. 'It's becoming renewable.' As the gradual switch to all-electric homes threatens to leave billions of dollars of gas pipeline infrastructure as stranded assets, the promise of cleaner fuels – such as gases made from organic waste or hydrogen – being blended with and one day replacing polluting methane gas used in homes and businesses has become one of the industry's main survival plans. Loading But renewable gases are not yet commonly used nor available to residential gas customers. The ACCC alleges Australian Gas Networks' advertising overstated the likelihood it could overcome 'significant technological and economic barriers' within the time frame it suggested. 'It is not currently possible to distribute renewable gas at scale and at an economically viable price, and throughout 2022 and 2023 it was highly uncertain whether, and if so, when, this would be possible,' ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.
Sky News AU
26-06-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
'Renewable gas greenwashing' lands Australian Gas Networks in court after ACCC alleges company misled consumers
A major Australian gas company has been sued for alleged greenwashing after claiming it could deliver 'renewable gas' within a generation. Australian Gas Networks in 2022 and 2023 ran its 'Love Gas' advertising campaign where a father and his young daughter used gas appliances in the home for cooking, heating and bathing. The ad fast forwarded to the daughter as an adult where she was engaging in the same activities. A voiceover throughout the ads claimed Australian Gas Networks' "flame" was "becoming renewable" for "this generation and the next". The final frame of each ad showed the company's logo next to a green flame and the words 'Love gas. Love a renewable gas future'; or just 'Love Gas'. Australian Gas Networks is now heading to court as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission alleges the company engaged in 'greenwashing' through its ad campaign as it was overly ambitious with its renewables promises. 'We allege that the ads overstated the likelihood of Australian Gas Networks overcoming significant technical and economic barriers to distribute renewable gas to households within a generation,' ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said. 'It is not currently possible to distribute renewable gas at scale and at an economically viable price, and throughout 2022 and 2023 it was highly uncertain whether, and if so when, this would be possible. 'We allege that even though Australian Gas Networks knew the future of renewable gas was uncertain, it made an unqualified representation to consumers that it would distribute renewable gas to households within a generation.' The consumer watchdog alleges these ads encouraged customers to either become a customer with Australian Gas Networks or remain customers with the company based on the 'misleading impression' they would receive 'renewable gas' within a generation. 'We consider that consumers were deprived of the opportunity to make fully informed choices,' Ms Cass-Gottlieb said. The ads did not contain any fine print, qualifications or disclaimers regarding its 'renewable gas' claim. Australian Gas Networks provides gas to about 1.3 million homes and businesses primarily in Victoria and South Australia, however, it also services Queensland, NSW and the Northern Territory. Ms Cass-Gottlieb said businesses that misled consumers through environmental claims were making it more difficult for companies 'that are genuinely working to reduce their environmental impact'. 'Businesses that make environmental claims about the future must have reasonable grounds for those claims, or they will be taken to be misleading under the Australian Consumer Law,' the ACCC chair said. 'Businesses must take care when they promote emissions-reduction measures that their claims can be backed up with evidence, and that they are realistic about emerging energy technologies and when changes are likely to be achieved. 'Misleading claims not only break the trust of consumers, they also breach the Australian Consumer Law.' It follows Clorox Australia, the company behind Glad wrap, being forced to pay an $8.25 million fine for greenwashing after the ACCC took it to court for greenwashing. Similarly, Active Super was fined $10.5m by the Federal Court in March over deceptive marketing that led its customers to believe it eliminated investments that 'posed too great a risk to the environment and the community'.
