Aetna Affiliate Owes Utah Children’s Hospital for Unpaid Bills

An Aetna Health Management LLC affiliate must pay a Utah children’s hospital over $78,000 because a memorandum of understanding between Aetna and the provider is a contract that binds the affiliate, a federal court in the state said.

Meritain Health Inc. breached the MOU when it refused to pay IHC Health Service Inc.'s bill for medical services rendered to a beneficiary of a health plan it administered, the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah said.

The MOU contained the terms necessary to form a contract, the court said. Although it doesn’t specifically identify Meritain as an affiliate covered ...