UnitedHealthcare Message to Health Net Members
UnitedHealthcare has acquired Health Net of the Northeast’s licensed subsidiaries and obtained the rights to renew Health Net’s membership in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. This means that when your employer renews your group’s coverage, they may choose UnitedHealthcare. UnitedHealthcare will provide you broader choice and access to quality care with one of the largest local and national networks, robust clinical programs and a full range of affordable products. We appreciate you coming to find out more information about UnitedHealthcare and look forward to welcoming you once your employer chooses to renew with UnitedHealthcare. However, at this time there is read more
Read MoreUnitedHealthcare Completes Acquisition of Health Net?s Northeast Licenses and Rights to Renew
UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group company, and Health Net, Inc. today announced that UnitedHealthcare has completed the previously announced acquisition of Health Net of the Northeast’s licensed subsidiaries and has obtained rights to renew Health Net’s membership in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. The transaction has received all regulatory approvals required for completion “UnitedHealthcare has a long, successful history of providing people in the Northeast with affordable, quality health care options, and we look forward to serving the health and well-being needs of Health Net’s Northeast members as they renew with UnitedHealthcare,” said Jeff Alter, read more
Read MoreState approves Health Net sale to UnitedHealth
The decision was condemned on Friday by the Connecticut State Medical Society, which expressed concern that the takeover harms competition and leaves health care consumers little protection. In July, UnitedHealth and Health Net announced the deal, worth more than $500 million. United has confirmed that the deal does not include the nearly 1,000 workers Health Net has in Connecticut, with the vast majority in Shelton, but has not discussed potential job losses. United employs nearly 4,000 in the state. One of the issues the medical society raised Friday was that United is buying the right, but not the obligation, to re-enroll Health Net’s customers in its UnitedHealthcare insurance read more
Read MoreHealth Net Names New President of Northeast Plans, General Counsel
Health Net Inc. has reshuffled responsibilities of two executives in light of UnitedHealthcare’s recent acquisition of the company’s Northeast U. S. licenses. Health Net said it named Linda Tiano as president of regional health plans for Health Net of the Northeast. She has served as senior vice president, general counsel and secretary since January 2007. To replace Tiano, the company named Angelee Bouchard as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, effective immediately. In the newly created position, Tiano will relocate to Health Net’s Shelton, Conn. office and will lead the Northeast operations under an agreement with UnitedHealthcare. She read more
Read MoreDemocratic Governors Voice Concern Over Health Care Bill
Republican governors are not alone in being concerned about what the proposed health care legislation might mean for their already overstrained budgets: Democrats share the same worries. “We’ve got concerns,” Gov. Jack Markell of Delaware said in an interview Wednesday, hours before getting elected as the chairman of the Democratic Governors Association. “And we’re doing our best to communicate them. We understand the need to get something done, and we’re supportive of getting something done. But we want to make sure it’s done in a way that state budgets are not negatively impacted. ”From the start, Republican governors have been more outspokenly read more
Read MoreHealth strategy could save W. Va. $1B
West Virginia’s health care system could save over $1. 1 billion by going digital and centralizing patient care, according to a first-of-its-kind report presented to lawmakers Monday. Those savings would be seen not just by government agencies, but by private insurers and policyholders, who could benefit directly in the form of lower premiums. The report should lend urgency to some initiatives that have already begun, like electronic medical records and prescriptions, according to the groups behind its creation. “It really is remarkable to consider the savings available from options that are, basically, low-hanging fruit,” said Perry Bryant, executive director of West read more
Read MoreArkanas Department of Health announces second flu shot clinic
The Arkansas Department of Health is holding a second round of mass flu clinics beginning Monday, Dec. 7, designed to immunize Arkansans against both the seasonal and the H1N1 influenza. The unprecedented effort will continue through Dec. 18, with a local shot clinic included on the schedule. “We’ll be offering both the seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccinations from 8 a. m. to 4 p. m. Friday, Dec. 11, at the Piggott Community Center,” noted Kim Donner, A. P. N. , administrator of the Clay County Health Unit. “This time both vaccines are in ample supply that we will be able to offer either one, or both, of the shots to everyone,” she added. During the first read more
Read MoreAetna Helps Consumer-Directed Health Plan Members Maximize Their Health Benefits
Aetna has introduced a new online resource designed to help members who have enrolled or are considering enrolling in an Aetna Consumer-Directed Health Plan (CDHP) get the most out of their plan. Through a new page on Aetna. com, visitors can learn more about the plans, get tips on how to use these plans effectively, and view informational videos on the two most common types of plans — Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA) and Health Savings Accounts (HSA). The site was developed using feedback from Aetna’s own CDHP members, as well as an independent survey conducted earlier this year, indicating that an overwhelming majority of consumers would benefit from read more
Read MoreFed warning threatens CA kids’ health program
A grim prognosis for a highly touted program that provides health insurance for poor children in California: A federal review says a plan to save California Healthy Families Program may violate tax laws. The bipartisan agreement was touted as a crucial piece of legislation that helped save the California Healthy Families Program from devastating budget cuts. Just before young patients were kicked off the program, health insurers agreed to be taxed 2 percent. Because of that, combined with higher co-pays from families, the state was able to keep the program afloat for 700,000 poor children in California. “We have found a solution. It is one of shared responsibility between read more
Read MoreLouisiana senator walks tightrope on health vote
Landrieu is one of a handful of centrist Democrats reluctant to support the plan to revamp the $2. 5 trillion U. S. healthcare industry, the top priority in President Barack Obama’s domestic agenda. And she faces a tough choice: defy the wishes of her party on a legislative priority central to Obama’s promise of change, or defy the wishes of voters in her home state of Louisiana who are hostile to the proposals. “Obama is very unpopular in the Deep South . . . and all of his legislation is unpopular,” said Bernie Pinsonat a pollster with Southern Media and Opinion Research, a survey company based in Louisiana’s state capital Baton Rouge. “If she votes read more
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