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A California arbitration judge ordered Health Net Inc to pay $9.4 million in damages for what he described as the insurer's "reprehensible" conduct in canceling the policy of a cancer patient, according to documents made public on Friday.
The award to Patsy Bates, 51, included $8 million in punitive damages and raised concerns about the company's practice of retroactively canceling policies of individuals who make large claims.
Health Net said in a statement that, while it does not agree with some of the arbitrator's conclusions, it will immediately adopt a review process for all policy cancellations
(Reporting by Gina Keating; Editing by Andre Grenon)