New York's Cuomo Subpoenas Citigroup, JPMorgan in Health-Care Credit Probe
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo expanded his health-care credit card probe, which has included subpoenas to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Chase Health Advance, Citigroup Inc.’s Citi Health and CareCredit, a division of General Electric Co’s GE consumer finance unit.
Last week, Cuomo announced an investigation into what he called “predatory health care lending” where consumers were allegedly misled about financing terms for health-care credit cards.
“Our ongoing investigation has uncovered conflicts of interest and predatory practices in the health care industry that are hurting New Yorkers and patients across the country,” Cuomo said today in a statement. “Patients are being misled into paying for services they never received by the people they should be able to trust the most -- their doctors.”
Cuomo said he has issued subpoenas to 14 dental and health care clinics. The subpoenas seek marketing materials, applications, terms of credit, and contracts. He claimed some providers pressure consumers into using the card and are rewarded with “kickbacks” in the form of rebates.
Citigroup spokesman Samuel Wang said in an e-mailed statement that the bank will cooperate with Cuomo’s investigation. Joe Evangelisti, a spokesman for New York-based JPMorgan, declined to comment.
Last week, GE spokesman Stephen White said the company was looking forward to working with Cuomo’s office.
To contact the reporter on this story: Karen Freifeld in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan at kfreifeld@bloomberg.net.
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