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PRIMETIME
Air Date: Thursday, August 05, 2004
Time Slot: 10:00 PM-11:00 PM EST on ABC
Episode Title: "N/A"
[NOTE: The following article is a press release issued by the aforementioned network and/or company. Any errors, typos, etc. are attributed to the original author. The release is reproduced solely for the dissemination of the enclosed information.]

CHRIS CUOMO INVESTIGATES A COMPANY ACCUSED OF FAILING TO PAY MILLIONS IN HEALTH INSURANCE CLAIMS AND LEAVING FAMILIES ON THE HOOK FOR MASSIVE MEDICAL BILLS

Also: Diane Sawyer Interviews Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx About Their Unlikely Pairing in the New Film "Collateral"

"Primetime Thursday" Airs August 5 on ABC

A four-month "Primetime" investigation reveals a disturbing problem in the world of health insurance that has authorities scrambling to protect consumers from being stuck with huge medical bills. Chris Cuomo reports on an Idaho company that provides a health plan, among other benefits, to small businesses across the country, but stands accused of not paying millions of dollars in claims. Authorities say companies like this are a growing problem, and due to loopholes in current laws, their hands are tied to do much about it. "PRIMETIME THURSDAY" airs THURSDAY, AUGUST 5 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

The company in question, ePEO Link, is a professional employer organization, part of a burgeoning industry promising small businesses cost savings on health insurance, payroll and other services. EPEO and other companies like it have not been regulated by state insurance authorities, so when companies have failed to pay insurance claims, customers have little or no recourse. In a written statement to "Primetime," lawyers for ePEO say the company eventually paid "thousands of health care claims" worth "more than eight million dollars" and has tried to have the other bills covered. But regulators say it's the claims the company didn't pay that have left many stunned consumers stuck with the bill.

Also: Diane Sawyer interviews Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx about their new film "Collateral," in which Cruise plays a very different role -- a hired killer who takes cab driver Foxx on a wild and violent ride. Sawyer takes the two stars on another unique cab ride and they discuss their unlikely pairing, life before fame and single fatherhood. Cruise also talks with Sawyer about whether he would ever consider getting back together with ex-wife Nicole Kidman.

And: In a report that originally aired last March, John Quiqones has the story of an extremist religious community in northern Arizona that that practices polygamy as a central tenet of its faith. Flora Jessop, who managed to escape many years ago from the community, alleges that the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints forces teenaged girls to marry into polygamy and bear many children in complete isolation from the outside world. Jessop is on a deeply personal mission to help other girls escape this fate via daring rescue missions.

Diane Sawyer and Charles Gibson are the co-anchors of "Primetime Thursday." Shelley Ross is the executive producer. (CLOSE CAPTIONED)

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