|
|
|
| 
February 28, 2006
|
MHMR February 28, 2006; Volume 14, Number 4
Aetna buys disability firm...Medicare HMO lives rise 8%...Horizon is largest Medicare PPO...4Q05 MCO net rises 60%...Chart: 4Q05 financials, 13 MCOs...Molina 4Q05 net falls 34%...McGuire exercises options...Cigna loses London arbitration...Chart: Medicare HMO lives...Chart: Medicare PPO lives...Best upgrades Deere Health Plan...HMO stocks rise 2%...Services stocks fall 2%...and more...
|
|
AETNA ACQUIRES DISABILITY FIRM
Aetna Inc. (Hartford, CT) announced that it would acquire the disability claims management business of Broadspire (Plantation, FL) for $160 million in cash.
|
|
MEDICARE HMO LIVES UP 8% IN 2005
Medicare Advantage HMO lives rose 8% to 5.038 million in 2005, with UnitedHealth (Minnetonka, MN) solidifying its position as the nation’s top plan with 1.138 million lives.
|
|
HORIZON IS LARGEST MEDICARE PPO
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (Newark, NJ) remained the nation’s largest Medicare PPO plan in 2005, with 49,944 lives, down 1.1% from 2004.
|
|
4Q05 MCO NET RISES 60%, FINAL TALLY SHOWS
A final tally of fourth-quarter 2005 financial results for the nation’s 13 publicly traded managed care organizations shows net income for the quarter of $2.139 billion, up 60% from the same period a year earlier.
|
|
MOLINA 4Q05 NET FALLS 34%
Molina Healthcare (Long Beach, CA), which continues to try to dig itself out of hole caused by higher-than-expected medical costs (MHMR, July 31, 2005), reported fourth-quarter 2005 net income of $10.732 million, down 34% form the same period a year earlier.
|
|
CIGNA LOSES ARBITRATION, TO TAKE $14 MILLION CHARGE
Cigna Corp. (Philadelphia) said it will reduce its previously reported 2005 earnings to reflect a $14 million after-tax charge, the result of an adverse London arbitration ruling related to the company’s discontinued worker’s comp reinsurance business.
|
|
BEST UPGRADES JOHN DEERE HEALTH PLANS
A.M Best (Oldwick, NJ) announced that it had upgraded the financial strength rating of John Deere Health Plans, which was recently acquired by UnitedHealth (MHMR, Nov. 30, 2005), to “A-” or “excellent,” up from “B++” or “very good.”
|
|
|
|
