Gloria Gonzalez (mailto:gagonzalez@crain.com)
BLOOMFIELD, Conn.?CIGNA HealthCare will expand a program designed to facilitate online consultations between patients and physicians, offering the program to self-insured employers nationwide. The Bloomfield, Conn.-based unit of CIGNA Corp. will expand its four-state pilot of an online consultation...
WASHINGTON?Congress has passed a bill to reauthorize the government health insurance program for uninsured children, eliminating several provisions that would have affected employers. The House on Wednesday and Senate on Tuesday agreed to extend funding through March 31, 2009, for the State...
OTTAWA?Canada has ratified an amended tax treaty with the United States that would allow cross-border employers and their employees to deduct pension contributions on their respective tax returns. The revised treaty would shield against negative tax consequences for cross-border employees, or...
NEW YORK?The New York Department of Insurance has asked a unit of UnitedHealth Group Inc. to delay implementing a new policy that would require hospitals to provide notice within 24 hours of admitting a patient, but the insurer launched an amended policy on Monday. In a statement, New York...
PHILADELPHIA?A CIGNA Corp. unit will disclose to consumers and physicians the cost and quality metrics the insurer uses to rank doctors on a nationwide basis, expanding the program beyond New York. CIGNA Healthcare, a unit of Philadelphia-based CIGNA Corp., reached an agreement last month with New...
NEW YORK?Aetna Inc. has reached an agreement with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to fully disclose to consumers and physicians the cost and quality metrics the insurer uses to rank doctors. Aetna?s program, known as ?Aetna Aexcel,? designates physicians in 12 specialty categories who have...
WASHINGTON?A House of Representatives committee has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to examine UnitedHealth Group Inc.?s proposed acquisition of Sierra Health Services Inc. because of concerns about a potential lack of competition in Nevada?s health care market. In a letter to the Department...
LOS ANGELES?Health Net Inc. is reorganizing its management structure, appointing its first chief operating officer in nearly 10 years and creating a new health plan division, the company announced Thursday. James Woys will be the first COO for the Los Angeles-based company since 1998. Mr. Woys has...
NEW YORK?The New York State Department of Insurance has licensed RP Captive Insurance Co. Inc. to insure the risks of a real estate project developed by Silverstein Properties Inc. RPIC will insure the risks of River Place II L.L.C., a large residential development in midtown Manhattan. The...
OTTAWA?The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed an appeal of an Ontario Court of Appeal ruling in a securities case that had major implications for the directors and officers? liability insurance market. The Ontario Court of Appeal ruling in Douglas Kerr vs. Danier Leather Inc. overturned a lower...
