UnitedHealth Unit Settles With Labor Department for $20 Million

UnitedHealth Group Inc. unit UMR Inc. agreed to pay at least $20.25 million to settle a US Labor Department lawsuit saying it improperly denied payments for emergency room visits and urine drug tests.

The department on Feb. 7 sought court approval for a consent judgment requiring the subsidiary that manages health plans for employers to pay patients with covered urinary drug screening claims $68.85 each, with additional payments of up to $103.27 possible if proper documentation is submitted.

The deal also requires UMR to reprocess covered emergency room claims and pay a penalty equal to 10% of the total payments ...