News

ProAssurance posts $140M 4Q profit Thu, 23 Feb 2012 02:42:43 +0000 - ProAssurance Corp. (NYSE: PRA) reported net income of $140.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2011, up from $102.1 million from the same quarter in 2010. Operating income, which excludes the company’s income and loss on investments, was also up at $131.5 million compared to $96.1 million a year prior. For the year, the Birmingham-based insurance company's gross premiums written were $566 million, up 6 percent from 2010. Read more

UnitedHealth Group executive elected to Xcel Energy board Thu, 23 Feb 2012 01:34:39 +0000 - Gail Koziara Boudreaux, CEO of a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group Inc., has been elected to the board of Xcel Energy Inc. Boudreaux, 51, is CEO of UnitedHealthcare and manages businesses that represent 93 percent of the revenue created by Minnetonka-based UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH). She has been named to Fortune magazine's list of the "50 Most Powerful Women in Business" several times and was honored by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal with a Women in Business "Industry Leader" award in 2009... Read more

Brownback’s Medicaid reform program lures five insurer bids Wed, 22 Feb 2012 23:32:46 +0000 - Five insurance companies have submitted bids to participate in KanCare, Gov. Sam Brownback’s effort to remodel the state’s Medicaid program. Announced Wednesday, the five are competing for three spots to oversee the program, which seeks to replace the current state-run operation with a private “managed care” model. The five are WellCare of Kansas, based in Tampa, Fla.; Sunflower State Health Plan, based in Topeka; United Health Care, based in Minneapolis; Coventry Health Care of Kansas, based in Wichita; and Amerigroup, based in Virginia Beach... Read more

Coventry, UnitedHealthcare among firms vying for Kansas’ managed-care contract Wed, 22 Feb 2012 23:23:18 +0000 - Two insurance companies with strong ties to Wichita are among those bidding to coordinate the care of Kansans receiving Medicaid services. Coventry Health Care of Kansas Inc. and UnitedHealthcare are among five companies statewide that submitted proposals. State lawmakers are weighing a Medicaid-reform proposal that would take much of the payment burden off of the state and transfer it to a private company. “We are encouraged by such broad interest and quality bidders. We look forward to improving the health outcomes of Kansans with our transformed Medicaid program,” said Jeff Colyer, Kansas’ Lt... Read more

Maryland awards $297M Medicaid contract to CSC Wed, 22 Feb 2012 23:14:43 +0000 - Maryland's spending board approved Wednesday a $297 million contract with Falls Church-based IT company Computer Sciences Corp. that is expected to improve Maryland’s process for paying tens of millions of dollars in Medicaid claims each month. The contract with Computer Sciences Corp. (NYSE: CSC) is being hailed by some of the state’s health care leaders as Maryland’s long-awaited move into a new high-tech age for determining the eligibility of the state’s Medicaid members. But the work also will result in the loss of about 80 jobs within the state’s health department... Read more

Supreme Court sends Medi-Cal fee suit back to Court of Appeals Wed, 22 Feb 2012 22:52:22 +0000 - The U.S. Supreme Court tossed the California lawsuit over a proposed 10 percent cut to Medi-Cal provider fees back to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday, paving the way for further legal argument at that level. The Ninth Circuit previously sided with doctors and other providers, agreeing they should have the ability to sue to block the cuts. The ruling is narrow one that cites the complexity of the issue and changes since the first lawsuit was filed and lobs the case back to the circuit court for further argument... Read more

Is Kaiser Permanente planning to outsource a big chunk of its National Facilities work? Stand by for details Wed, 22 Feb 2012 22:31:00 +0000 - Mum's the word, but big things are percolating at Kaiser Permanente's National Facilities Services unit. Kaiser won’t say much, but it’s using consulting biggie Ernst & Young to help it “look for ways to do things more efficiently” when it comes to planning, building, maintaining and running its roughly 1,000 hospitals and medical office buildings in nine states and the District of Columbia. An informed source told the San Francisco Business Times that the Oakland-based health care system recently sent out RFIs (Requests for Information, the step prior to RFPs) to commercial real estate services giant Jones Lang LaSalle and roughly a dozen others about potentially taking over a big chunk of its facilities management duties... Read more

Allstate introduces auto-claims satisfaction guarantee in Texas Wed, 22 Feb 2012 22:11:30 +0000 - Allstate has rolled out a new service in Texas called Claims Satisfaction Guarantee. Under the new feature, if an eligible customer is dissatisfied in any way, for any reason, with the level of service received on a paid auto claim, Allstate will provide a credit to the customer’s auto-policy premium. The caveat is that customers will have to express their dissatisfaction in writing within 180 days of the incident that triggered the claim. This new feature is automatically available on every Allstate auto policy in Texas, including San Antonio, effective Jan... Read more

Colorado gets $18M grant for health insurance exchange Wed, 22 Feb 2012 22:01:16 +0000 - The Colorado Health Benefit Exchange received a $17.9 million grant Wednesday from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to develop the infrastructure to make an Internet health insurance marketplace work. The grant had been expected ever since a legislative oversight committee gave exchange leaders the approval to apply for the money in December. The money is vital to getting the exchange operational by late 2013, as planned, said Patty Fontneau, CEO/executive director of the exchange... Read more

Arizona approves tax break that will benefit Apollo Group Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:22:00 +0000 - Arizona has approved a new tax break that helps University of Phoenix and its Apollo Group parent company. Gov. Jan Brewer signed Arizona Senate Bill 1046 into law Tuesday. The measure allows Arizona businesses with operations in other states to choose between state income tax formulas to determine their tax bills. Brewer vetoed a similar bill last year but approved this year’s legislation. Last year’s decision upset the folks over at UOP/Apollo. The company threatened to move jobs out of the state after the veto... Read more