The consumer regulator is taking Medibank Private to court over allegations they denied more than 800 members benefits they were entitled to under their policies.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is accusing the health insurer of making false representations to its members by telling them they were not covered for surgeries when they in fact were.

ACCC says some customers then upgraded their policies despite already being entitled to the cover under existing claims with ‘ahm’.

Medibank has attributed the problem to a coding error that led to them self reporting to the regulator.

But ACCC chairman Rod Sims tells John Stanley the excuse is not good enough.

“Even if one accepts it’s an error, it’s an error that should have been picked up quickly.

“It did cause a lot of people a lot of harm.”

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