Company Health Insurance

TRENTON: (Thur. 4.5) Joseph Venziano, 66, of Wildwood was sentenced today for health insurance claims fraud, according to state Attorney General Stuart Rabner. In a joint release from Rabner and Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw, it was announced that Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden Brown, Venziano was sentenced to five years probation by Superior Court Judge Raymond Batten in Court House. He was also ordered to pay $9,393 in restitution to Aetna Life Insurance Company. Venziano was sentenced pursuant to his guilty plea to third-degree theft by deception, a charged contained in a Cape May County grand jury indictment returned in November 2006. At his guilty plea hearing on Feb. 1 before Batten, Venziano admitted that, between Oct. 19, 2002 and Dec.

Wildwood man gets probation in insurance fraud

CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE — Wildwood resident Joseph Venziano was sentenced Thursday to five years' probation for insurance fraud.

Venziano, 66, was indicted in November and pleaded guilty to theft by deception, a third-degree crime, in February.

He previously admitted that between Oct. 18, 2002, and Dec. 30, 2003, he falsely represented that he remained married to his former wife so she would be eligible for spousal health insurance benefits.

According to the state Attorney General's office, which prosecuted the case, health insurance benefits were provided through Venziano's employer by the Aetna Life Insurance Company, and the policy provided that those benefits would end if the marriage ended.

Venziano was divorced in 1998, but Aetna paid $9,393 to various health care providers for services rendered to the former wife between 2002 and 2003.

Blue Cross of California Keeps Promise to Members: Enhanced ...

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., March 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Cross of California (Blue Cross), through its affiliate BC Life & Health Insurance company, is now offering new health plan options for employers and individuals that will change the way consumers think about health care, helping them to lead healthier lives while also helping them gain control over the rising cost of care. These new consumer-driven health plan (CDHP) products and services are now available to large and small businesses as well as individuals. Previously, these products were offered only to national employers' members. "Our customers who choose these consumer-driven products will have new opportunities to lead healthier lives," said Blue Cross president Brian A. Sassi. "Our suite of Lumenos CDHP products puts consumers in control of their health care dollars and offers them an incentive to spend wisely and demand better health care quality and value." Blue Cross will offer the following core CDHP products: -- Lumenos Health Reimbursement Account -- Lumenos Health Savings Account -- Lumenos Health Incentive Account -- Lumenos Health Incentive Account Plus Consumers who choose Lumenos products will be eligible for extensive preventive care and personal health coaching, as well as smoking cessation and weight management programs.

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New Hampshire Introduces Tonik

MANCHESTER, N.H., March 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Comprising almost 17 million Americans, young adults between the ages of 19 and 34 have one major thing in common when it comes to their health care -- they typically choose to go without health insurance. To help address this issue, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New Hampshire, the state's largest health benefits provider, has introduced "Tonik" a unique health insurance option for New Hampshire's "young invincibles," those who have disposable income, but no health insurance. "Tonik is an important product that allows this growing demographic to purchase coverage on their own terms," said Lisa M. Guertin, president, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New Hampshire. "Our company asked young people what they were looking for in a health plan, and we listened.

Independence Holding Company Announces the Introduction of a New ...

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 26, 2007--Independence Holding Company (NYSE: IHC) today reported that it is introducing a new one-life dental product to its portfolio of niche health insurance products through its member company GroupLink, Inc. ("GroupLink"). GroupLink, which has over 20 years experience in dental products, will market and administer this benefits program, which is available nationwide and to people of all ages. It is specifically designed for those individuals and families who do not have access to employer-based dental benefits, and affords individuals a choice of plans and a PPO option available at a reduced premium. General agents and brokers will have the ability to market this new product through a link to GroupLink's online system via their own websites, and enroll and bind coverage using an exclusive online enrollment system.

Research and Markets: Wellpoint, Inc. Is the Largest Publicly ...

Dublin - Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c53000) has announced the addition of WellPoint Inc. Business Intelligence Report to their offering The BusIntell Report provides the information and analysis you need on WellPoint, Inc. to gain an understanding of what makes the company the nation's leading health benefits company, and the largest health plan-owned PBM in the country. The BusIntell Report provides the following sections: Health Insurance Industry Overview, Pharmacy Benefit Management Overview, Medicare Prescription Drug Program Overview, Company Overview, Corporate Strategy, Internet Activities, Company Executives, Financial and Statistical Information, detailed Lines of Business, and Sources. WellPoint, Inc. is the largest publicly traded commercial health benefits company in terms of membership in the United States, serving approximately 34 million medical members.

Got insurance?

The premiums for USU's student health insurance are dropping 15 percent next year due to decreased claims during the 2005-2006 school year, according to the Health and Wellness Center's insurance coordinator.

Noelle Hansen said the insurance company that USU contracts with wanted to help the students out since USU had a year with lower-than-usual claims.

"Since we actually had a good year, the insurance company wanted to give back," Hansen said. "We hope this move will help students feel like they can purchase the university's insurance."

USU offers a basic health insurance plan through FirstUnderwriters, which is available to all university students taking six or more credits and their dependents, according to the Student Health and Wellness Center Web site.

Universal Health gets reprieve

A judge in Tallahassee has given Universal Health Care Insurance Co. additional time to come up with more capital to bolster its financial reserves.

Great-West Lifeco's US Subsidiary Announces Agreement To Acquire ...

WINNIPEG, April 9, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Great-West Lifeco Inc. today announced that its U.S. subsidiary, Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company, has entered into an agreement to acquire an 80% majority interest in Benefit Management Corp., whose principal subsidiary is Allegiance Benefit Plan Management, Inc., a Montana-based third-party administrator of employee health plans. The existing majority shareholder will retain a 20% interest in Benefit Management Corp. Lifeco expects the transaction will be accretive to earnings in 2007 and subsequent years. The transaction will add nearly 90,000 medical members to Lifeco's Great-West Healthcare division. It includes Allegiance's physicians and hospitals network, as well as Benefit Management Corp.'s other subsidiaries. These include a new company that was created to sell fully-insured health plans in Montana, and a company that provides medical management services, primarily in Montana.

Panama system helping Yahoo compete

Megan Hanely, vice president of direct marketing for Esurance, an online insurance company in San Francisco that advertises on Yahoo, welcomes Panama and said it has helped her sell more policies. Around the same percentage of Yahoo users click on her ads, but far more of them become customers.

Hanely praised Yahoo's system for allowing her to better target Esurance ads by geography, an important consideration in insurance because of the variations in policies and rates across the country. The new formula, she said, makes the ad auction more rational because her company doesn't always have to quickly react if a competitor raises its bid by a penny.

In any case, Hanely said that she hopes Yahoo succeeds, and that Google has healthy competition, if only for selfish reasons.

"Having one dominant company, or even two dominant companies, is bad for competition," she said.

Tips for selling your life insurance policy

EAR SAVVY SENIOR: I have a life insurance policy that I've been thinking about dropping - because I don't really need it any longer - but my neighbor was telling me I could sell it to a life settlement company for a nice profit. What can you tell me about life settlements? -Interested In Selling

A life settlement is the sale of an existing life insurance policy (term, whole life, universal and others) to a third-party company for cash. Life settlements are typically best suited for people over age 65 with some health problems and who own a policy with a face value of $200,000 or more.

President of Health Insurance Agency Advises Businesses on What ...

There are so many types of plans available to small businesses today. Knowing how to chose the right one should not be hard if a logical approach is used, according to Chuck Mondrus, President of American Health Insurance, a top-producing agency in the United States.

An employer may be the only employee of the company but still needs the peace of mind provided by a quality insurance plan. Before the employer ask for a self employed health insurance quote, though, look at these three business growth scenarios.

Blue Cross Tried To Steal Customers

Apr. 4--As two possible buyers kicked the tires Tuesday at Universal Health Care Insurance Co. in St. Petersburg, the company's attorneys fought separate legal battles against the state and a competitor, accusing both of using illegal tactics to try to put the young company out of business. Universal filed a complaint against Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida on Tuesday in Pinellas Circuit Court, saying that the state's largest insurer deliberately smeared Universal to steal its customers. Universal said Blue Cross committed illegal acts, including forgery, which would entitle the Pinellas company to triple damages if it can prove its case. Blue Cross "intentionally, maliciously and unjustifiably interfered with" Universal's relationships with its members and doctors, the complaint states, through "false, misleading, deceptive (and) defamatory conduct." Blue Cross has acknowledged sending e-mail to 3,000 sales agents on March 26 that said Universal's Any, Any, Any plan had gone out of business and its members had been moved into a Blue Cross drug plan for Medicare beneficiaries.

Kool Smiles to open children’s dental clinic

Kool Smiles, a dental clinic that caters to kids, is opening a new location at 3112 N. Main St. in Belvedere Plaza. Kool Smiles provides comprehensive general dental care to under-served young people ages 1 to 21 who are covered by Medicaid and state children's health insurance programs.