> Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is notifying about 6,500 members whose personal information, including names, addresses, birthdates and Social Security numbers, was exposed on a third-party website, according to the Detroit News. The Blues learned of the issue on Nov. 17 when a member reported she found her personal information after searching the Internet for her name. The third-party website was quickly shut down and the breach was reported to HHS. The insurer is in the process of mailing the members letters and will offer credit protection services for a year. Article
> UnitedHealth Group said it will sell its Ingenix i3 clinical development business, including research and pharmaceutical resourcing units, to inVentiv Health, Bloomberg reports. UnitedHealth said those businesses bring in about $400 million in annual revenue. The companies expect the deal to close in the first half of 2011. Article
> California insurers can't use gender as a factor in pricing individual policies starting this month, according to the Monterey Herald. The new state law, which applies to both new and renewing policies, could affect up to 1 million California women who purchase health insurance in the individual market. The federal health reform law will prohibit gender rating nationally in 2014, but because California adopted its own law, gender rating will be banned regardless of what happens to the federal health overhaul. Article
> Enrollment in the Illinois Preexisting Condition Insurance Plan now exceeds 1,000 members after it began offering a lower-deductible coverage option Jan. 1 and providing coverage without any cost-sharing requirements for annual physicals, immunizations, mammograms and other preventive benefits. The plan offers a PPO insurance product with either a $1,000 or $2,000 annual deductible, 80/20 percent cost sharing, and a maximum major medical out-of-pocket annual cost of $2,350, National Underwriter reports. Aticle
> Humana is pulling out of the United Kingdom after determining the private sector commissioning market was unlikely to develop dramatically in the next year. Humana is looking to sell off its limited UK business and is likely to close its operations within six months, reports the Financial Times. . Article
> The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has advised a U.S. District Court of its coming petition to the U.S. Supreme Court in a case in which West Penn Allegheny Health System alleges that UPMC and Highmark colluded to stifle competition in health treatment and insurance, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sent the case back to District Court for more detailed review, and UPMC wants the nation's highest court to address that decision. Article
And Finally... Love hurts. Article