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July 31, 2009
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MHMR July 31, 2009; Volume 17, Number 13
Humana, Health Net lose Tricare…Health Net to sell northeast unit…1Q09 MCO profits rise 7%...Aetna to buy EAP unit…Cigna focuses on cost cutting…Chart: 2Q09 MCO profits…WellPoint shares fall on outlook…Aetna shifts focus to margins…Coventry sees improvement…Humana maintains ’09 outlook…BCBS-MI sells DenteMax…MCOs struggle to grow…HMO premiums to rise 11.8%...COBRA hits plan profits…AHIP studies public plan impact…BCBS-NC videos never ran...and more...
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HUMANA, HEALTH NET LOSE TRICARE BIDS
Shares in Humana fell nearly 8% on July 14 after the company announced it had lost the contract to provide health benefits to 2.9 million Tricare South Region members.
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UNITED TO BUY HEALTH NET NORTHEAST UNIT
Following years of speculation, Health Net (Woodland Hills, CA) announced a deal to sell its Northeast operations to UnitedHealth Group (Minnetonka, MN) in a deal valued at up to $630 million.
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2Q09 MCO PROFITS RISE 1%
Second-quarter 2009 net income for the healthcare operations of 10 top managed care organizations rose 1% to $2.095 billion on revenues of $65.433 billion, up 5.6%.
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CIGNA CONTINUES TO FOCUS ON COST CUTTING
With per member costs still running about 10% higher than key managed care competitors, Cigna Corp. (Philadelphia) outlined further efforts to reduce administrative expenses during the company’s second-quarter earnings call with Wall Street analysts.
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WELLPOINT SHARES FALL ON CLOUDY OUTLOOK
Shares in WellPoint Inc. (Indianapolis, IN) fell 6% on July 29 after the company lowered its 2009 profit forecast, blaming the impact of the economy on commercial lines.
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AETNA SHIFTS FOCUS TO MARGIN EXPANSION
Shares in Aetna Inc. (Hartford, CT) has fell 3% on July 27, after the company cut its 2009 earnings projections to a range of $2.75 to $2.90 per share.
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BCBS-MI SELLS DENTEMAX TO DENTAL NETWORK
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (Detroit) announced the sale of its DenteMax dental network leasing subsidiary to Health Care Service Corp.’s Dental Network of America for an undisclosed sum. The deal includes a contract in which DNA will provide BCBS-MI with an expanded dental network. DNA has more than 2.6 million members.
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PUBLIC PLAN WOULD HAMMER CA HOSPITALS, AHIP SAYS
A report from America’s Health Insurance Plans (Washington) suggests if half of patients with private health coverage moved to a government-run plan that paid Medicare FFS rates, many California hospitals would be forced to operate at a net loss – even if the current losses incurred by hospitals for uncompensated care were eliminated.
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