S&S Benefits.....Opinion,
Hearsay & News Review
United Health Group’s buying spree is continuing with
the proposed purchase of Sierra Health for more than $2.4 billion. The purchase
will need to be approved in Sierra’s primary service areas of NV, CA and TX.
In the meantime, the AMA asked the Department of Justice to block the proposal
since the AMA has deep reservations about United’s goal of dominating the
Nevada
health insurance market. If the merger is allowed, the AMA estimates UHC would
control 95% of the Vegas HMO market and 78% of the state HMO market. The
Consumers for Health Care Choices group also asked the DOJ to block the merger.
In more reduced competition news, Highmark and
Independence Blue Cross of PA have agreed to merge. The merger is expected to be
reviewed very closely due to the dominant nature of each of the Blues plans in
the market and the fact that there will be limited competition in
Pennsylvania
.
J.D. Power and Associates released its first-ever
National Health Insurance Plan Satisfaction Study, which surveyed over 10,000
consumers on their health plan satisfaction. When it comes to where employees
accept advice about how to stay healthy, 70% cited their doctor and just 2%
trust employers. Online health articles were the most trusted source for 22%,
while health plans were trusted by 12% and the government was most trusted by
6%.
More CDHP statistics: 5% of employers offer only a CDHP
plan and the percentage of large firms offering a CDHP program is 38%. Only 8%
of workers use a CDHP. High deductible health plan users go to the ER 10% less
than patients with traditional health insurance according to
Harv
ard
Medical
School
.
Small firms pay up to 18% more for health insurance than
the largest firms according to the Commonwealth Fund. However, small business
does not generally seek government intervention, but rather more open
competition in the market according to the National Federation of Independent
Business. In the meantime, competition is dwindling as the GAO reports that the
typical largest health insurer in a state controls 43% of the market, up from
33% in 2002.
A study by Guardian Life shows that 50% of employees read
their benefit brochure while 42% speak with HR to help make benefit choices. On
average employees spent 1.4 hours examining their benefit options during open
enrollment.
The CVS offer to buy Caremark is completed for $27
billion after Caremark turned down the offer from Express Scripts. The
enterprise will fill more than one billion prescriptions per year.
The Department of Managed Health Care in
California
reviewed 90 cases where Blue Cross of California declined coverage for medical
conditions by saying they had not been disclosed on consumer applications for
coverage. They found that Blue Cross was wrong in denying coverage every time.
Blue Cross was accepting applications without reviewing medical records and then
denying coverage when the patient submitted a claim, according to the DMHC.
According to The Hartford, EAP plans have a positive
effect on disability claims. They say companies without EAPs have 6% of their
workers out on disability leave compared to 2% for employers with EAPs. Workers
at companies without an EAP stayed out 22 days longer with musculoskeletal
disorders than those who also had an EAP. Another finding was that 74% of
employees with a disability claim who used an EAP were female and 71% who used
an EAP were disabled due to a nonpsychiatric condition.
Researchers from the
University
of
Michigan
say treatment of coronary artery disease appears to be shifting away from the
hospital.
U.S.
hospitalizations for heart attacks declined 10.6% from 2002 to 2005, most
likely due to preventive treatments with statin drugs, aspirin and declines in
smoking.
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