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June 15, 2007
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1Q07 HMO/POS LIVES INCREASE 1.1% TO 60.9 MILLION
Fully funded HMO and POS enrollment among 22 leading managed care organizations increased 1.1% to 60.926 million as of March 31, 2007, compared to the same period a year earlier, with gains in Medicare driving the increase.
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PREMIUMS RISING SHARPLY, BROKERS SAY
Employers saw a steep increase in group medical premiums over the past six months, according to a survey by The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers (Washington, DC).
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A.M. BEST AFFIRMS AETNA CREDIT RATING
A.M. Best (Oldwick, NJ) has affirmed the financial strength, credit and debt ratings of Aetna Inc. (Hartford, CT) and its life, health and HMO subsidiaries.
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HEALTHSPRING STUNG BY RISING MEDICAL COSTS
HealthSpring (Nashville, TN) announced that it will miss its 2007 profit projections because of unexpectedly high outpatient and E.R. charges for Medicare Advantage products in all of the company’s markets, coupled with rising hospital inpatient days primarily in Texas.
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CENTENE NAMES SLUSSER CFO
Centene (St. Louis) has named Eric Slusser chief financial officer effective July 9, replacing J. Per Brodin who’ll now be serving as senior vice president and chief accounting officer.
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MEDICAL COSTS TOP BUSINESS CHALLENGES, STUDY SAYS
Employers said that controlling medical costs will continue to be their top business challenge over the next five years, according to a survey by Guardian Life Insurance Co. (New York) of 300 employers.
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ADAM GETS NEW SENIOR VP
Adam (Atlanta, GA) has appointed John George as senior vice president of sales. He was previously with Per-Se Technologies, which was acquired by McKesson in January.
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MEDCO WINS BCBS ASSN. FEHBP MAIL ORDER DRUG PACT
Medco Health Solutions (Franklin Lakes, NJ) has won the contract to administer mail order drugs for 4 million federal employees and retirees enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program through the Blue Cross Blue Shield Assn.’s FEP Standard Option Benefit. The contract generates about 11 million mail order prescriptions annually.
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MHMR June 15, 2007: Volume 15, Number 11
MA universal plan signs 120,000…S&P downgrades health insurers…1Q07 BCBS HMO lives fall…1Q07 HMO/POS lives rise 1%...Chart: 1Q07 HMO/POS lives…Premiums up sharply, broker say…Best affirms Aetna ratings…Chart: 1Q07 BCBS HMO lives…HealthSpring stung by costs…Centene names Slusser CFO…Employer medical cost concerns…Adam names SVP, sales…Medco wins BCBS FEHBP pact…HMO stocks fall 0.7%...Services stocks fall 1.1%...and more…
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