PacifiCare

Wonks have long had a thing for Costco, which has become the anti-Wal Mart in some circles for its employee-friendly policies. Three years ago the company started a push to sell health insurance policies to small businesses members. Costco's members in California can buy policies from PacifiCare. Those in Washington and Oregon can purchase plans from HealthNet. The enrollment process is almost fully automated but Costco keeps a watchful eye over how things are going for members. "If a …

UnitedHealth Group and Humana are leading the field in Medicare Part D enrollment, according to new numbers out today. More than 90 companies are offering about 3,000 plans across the country, CMS reports. UnitedHealth, which has has benefited from an alliance with AARP and the acquisition of PacifiCare's Medicare business, is the clear leader with 27 percent of the market. Humana is trailing not far behind with 18 percent.

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Now that some time has passed, we're finally beginning to make sense of how Part D is impacting the healthcare industry. As expected, the impact for insurers and pharmaceutical companies has largely been positive. Of the major insurers, UnitedHealth Group has signed up the most new customers, adding 3.9 million thanks to partnerships with AARP and the PacifiCare acquisition. Following not far behind are Humana and WellPoint. Smaller insurers, are seeing only "limited gains" the paper …

Ordinarily a day when a major company reports quarterly earnings that blow away expectations is a happy day indeed. Wall Street generally sits up and takes notice. Analysts rethink their positions. Individual investors consider placing new bets. Unfortunately for the management at UnitedHealth Group, things are not working out quite that way today. Net income is up 21 percent over a year ago this quarter on the PacifiCare acquisition and the company's sizzling Medicare Part D business …

After years of excellent numbers, some critics are starting to wonder if things are about to take a turn for the worse at UnitedHealth. Goldman Sachs analyst Matthew Borsch reiterated his underperform rating for the company this weekend. Borsch says problems at recently acquired PacifiCare, "market noise on deteriorating customer service" and questions about corporate governance are "red flags" that should not be taken lightly. Borsch notes that PacifiCare earnings in California have …

> A whistleblower suit charges Medtronic with making improper (and very large) consulting payments to a number of prominent physicians. Article

> With national media attention shifting to healthcare policy, Columbia University business school dean R. Glenn Hubbard, one of the authors of the Bush plan, is drawing the spotlight. …

The UnitedHealth Group said its fourth quarter profits were up 18 percent as quarterly revenue rose from $12.05 billion from $10.51 billion. The company, which is the nation's second largest insurer, raised its earnings forecast for 2006, predicting earnings of between $2.85 to $2.90 a share. Wall Street wanted more; shares of UnitedHealth were down nearly two percent this morning.

Not all analysts are equally optimistic about the company's near-term future. Several note that its …

One health plan that has a better record than most in promoting disease management (DM) programs, PacifiCare, has just canceled a demonstration project in heart failure for Medicare FFS beneficiaries because it somehow failed to enroll enough people--even thought it will mean sending money back to the Federal government! PacifiCare says only 3,400 people had signed up for its HeartPartners heart-failure management program. It is unclear how this will impact UnitedHealth Group, which …

The Department of Justice gave its approval for the $8.1 billion merger of UnitedHealth Group and PacifiCare after the two companies said they would comply with new requirements mandated by the government. Under the terms of the agreement, the merged company must divest parts of its health plan business in Tucson and Boulder. The Justice Department also gave UnitedHealth one year to terminate an existing network access agreement with California's Blue Shield, saying the arrangement would …

California's insurance commissioner gave the go ahead for the $9.2 billion merger of PacifiCare and the UnitedHealth Group. The deal creates one of the largest health plans in America--and the largest by market cap--with 26 million subscribers. Some analysts had predicted that commissioner John Garamendi might decide to block the deal on the grounds that it could hurt consumers, but he allowed it in return for $250 million in investments and contributions to medically underserved …