And Then There Were Six.

With the acquisition of Healthnet by Unitedhealthcare, we are left with six health insurers to choose from in the NY Metro Area. Healthnet became a major player earlier this year with lower cost health plans than the other "guys." It was refreshing to see an insurer that was offering quality health plans with reasonable pricing. I guess they were just trying to build their book of business to look attractive for potential buyers. Last month Healthnet was negotiating with Emblemhealth to merge as one company but talks broke off and they couldn't come to terms. So Unitedhealthcare stepped in and purchased Healthnet.

Less competition, less choice of healthcare plans. This can't be good for the consumer. Maybe Obama can help? 

Obesity rates continued to climb in the past year with 23 U.S. states reporting adults in their states are fatter now than they were a year ago, according to an article in Reuters. Being overweight or obese raises the risk of heart disease, diabetes, some cancers, arthritis and other conditions causing you to go to the doctor more often.

Many companies are implementing "wellness" programs to help their employees take better care of themselves which reduces doctor visits and prescriptions for health problems. Many insurance companies will also pay for all or part of your gym membership if you want to start an exercising program. Check with your benefits department to see if your company has a wellness program.

You can read the entire article here.

This is an interesting article from FORTUNE magazine. It's not too long and very easy to read. You will get an interesting perspective about what could be in store for our healthcare system. You can read the article here.

Hopefully you will never need this, but as of 6/24/09 Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) is now part of the Oxford Network. Now members will be able to receive care at MSKCC on an in-network basis.  This applies to Oxford and UnitedHealthcare members with Freedom and Liberty plans in NY City and its five outpatient facilities on LI, Westchester County and New Jersey.

Aetna was named the top company among the nation’s largest health care insurers in FORTUNE's 2009 Most Admired Companies list.
In this year's rankings, Aetna came through with an unprecedented number 1 rating in seven areas for the Health Care Insurance and Managed Care industry:

– Quality of products & services
– Innovation
– Financial soundness
– Quality of management
– People management
– Use of corporate assets
– Long-term investment

Top Contender's;
Wellpoint
United HealthGroup
Humana
Cigna