Insurance customer lawsuits dog CNO
CNO Financial Group appears to have wrapped its arms around the cost of settling a trio of consumer lawsuits involving life insurance rate hikes, but it’s not out of the woods yet.
Insurance
Articles
SCHAFIR: Businesses face tough decisions over health care
Now that the election is over, it seems clearer that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, will likely move forward. The question is whether business owners will be able to steer their employees to state exchanges and wash their hands of health care coverage.
Analyst: WellPoint CEO search down to two
According to one Wall Street analyst, the search for a new CEO for Indianapolis-based health insurer WellPoint Inc. is down to two candidates: former Aetna Inc. CEO Ron Williams and Amerigroup Corp. CEO Jim Carlson.
Pence solidifies opposition to state exchange
Indiana Gov.-elect Mike Pence closed the door on a state-run health insurance exchange Thursday, arguing that the estimated $50 million cost of the state program was not worth the limited autonomy granted in return.
Pence not ruling out health partnership with feds
Indiana Gov.-elect Mike Pence has ruled out building a state-run health insurance exchange but appears to be leaving open the option of running a joint venture with the federal government as a critical decision deadline draws near.
Small biz exposure clouds WellPoint’s future
WellPoint’s average small-employer client has just 8.5 lives covered on its health plan. And firms of that size are far more likely to use the new health insurance exchanges, said WellPoint Chief Financial Officer Wayne DeVeydt.
Health insurance stocks flop after Obama wins second term
Health insurance stocks sank deeper than the broader market Wednesday after President Barack Obama's re-election helped clarify the future of his health care overhaul, a sweeping law that some investors fear will pinch profits.
Deal provides peek at Anthem’s narrow networks
A new agreement in Wisconsin provides a glimpse of the kind of “narrow network” arrangements that Indianapolis-based Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield might attempt in Indiana.
Baldwin & Lyons profits rise on fewer storm losses
Indianapolis-based Baldwin & Lyons Inc. continues to improve on its 2011 results, recording after-tax profit of $11.7 million, or 78 cents a share, for the third quarter.
CNO Financial earnings fall on recapitalization charge
Carmel-based CNO Financial Group on Monday reported a third-quarter loss of $5 million compared to a $179.5 million profit in the third quarter of 2011.
Judge approves $90 million for Anthem plaintiffs
The settlement will go to 700,000 claimants in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Connecticut, who said Anthem underpaid them when it converted in 2001 from policyholder ownership into publicly traded company WellPoint Inc.
Amerigroup shareholders approve $4.9B sale to WellPoint
Shareholders of Amerigroup Corp. overwhelming approved the Virginia company’s sale for $4.9 billion to Indianapolis-based health insurer WellPoint Inc. in a vote on Tuesday. The vote clears the way for the acquisition to close before the end of the year.
WellPoint reorganizes into four business units
Separate Medicare and Medicaid divisions each will sell plans for those government-backed insurance programs. Another will handle commercial and individual business, and a specialty unit will provide dental, vision and disability coverage.
Longtime insurance agency acquired by local rival
Property-casualty and employee benefits firm MJ Insurance buys Mead & Co., which dates to the 1860s.
Wellpoint raises $1.35B in first convertible offering since ’99
Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc. sold its first convertible securities in more than 13 years with a $1.35 billion offering of 30-year bonds.
Amerigroup delays vote on $4.9B WellPoint acquisition
Amerigroup Corp. officials agreed to delay a shareholder vote on WellPoint Inc.’s $4.9 billion buyout offer to resolve investors’ claims they were being shortchanged in the deal, the company said in a securities filing.
WellPoint to add 100-plus local jobs for new Medicare contract
WellPoint Inc.’s National Government Services unit will add more than 100 jobs in Indianapolis beginning late this year or early next after the health insurance giant won a new contract with the federal Medicare program.
Appeals court strikes down Indiana’s Medicaid dental cap
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago upheld a preliminary injunction that blocked the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration from enforcing a $1,000 annual limit on dental coverage. The agency had established it as a cost-cutting measure in 2011.
Some hospitals, doctors might be cut from health plans
With health insurance premiums continuing to outstrip inflation, some health insurers and hospital systems are considering bringing back an old strategy: limiting patient access to a “narrow” network of doctors and hospitals.
WellPoint hires Chicago-based search firm to find CEO
Chicago-based recruiting firm Spencer Stuart & Associates Ltd. has previously led executive and board director hunts for companies including Facebook Inc., Comcast Corp., Talbots Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co.