Pacificare?

Once Prodisc is approved you can file a new claim right away. I was informed by PacifiCare that each new device entitles you to a whole new claims/appeal process.

The part that is uncertain...is that I thought PacifiCare was bought out by UHC but I haven't received any notifications about where to send my payment yet.

lbp
i'm not sure but i dont believe united health care is,nt paying yet either.they all suck.mean while the ceo of ibx blue cross made 27 million last year.
no wonder there concerned about costs. SHRUG
chuck

chasswen,

I'm not sure what you were trying to say about my comment about UHC buying out Pacificare, but here's a link to an article which is what I was referring to...

Article

which states in part:
UnitedHealth Group Inc., the country's second-largest health insurer, said Wednesday that it will buy PacifiCare Health Systems Inc., based in Cypress (Orange County), in a stock and cash deal valued at $8.1 billion.

The transaction, which the companies hope to close late this year or early next year, would create a combined company of more than 26 million health plan members, second in size only to WellPoint Inc., which has more than 28 million members.

The acquisition of PacifiCare is expected to strengthen UnitedHealth's presence on the West Coast and gives the Minnesota insurer one of the country's largest plan managers for Medicare beneficiaries. PacifiCare operates in eight states and has 3.3 million members, about half in California.

***

Under the terms of the agreement, PacifiCare shareholders will receive 1. 1 shares of UnitedHealth stock plus $21.50 in cash for each PacifiCare share.

***

The deal stalled when California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi refused to approve it until the company increased investments to state health programs and promised that customers would not finance purchase costs, including large executive severance packages.

In a statement, Garamendi said he would closely scrutinize the UnitedHealth-PacifiCare transaction.

"My department has established a very clear position on health care industry consolidations and the effect they may have on consumers," Garamendi said. In Wednesday's conference call, PacifiCare's CEO, Howard Phanstiel, said the companies have little geographic overlap, especially in California, where UnitedHealth has just a small presence.

PacifiCare is the country's second-largest provider of Medicare health maintenance organizations with its Secure Horizons program, which has 700,000 HMO members and 40,000 who purchase Medicare supplemental plans.

The merger would give the combined company a stronger position in the Medicare marketplace when a prescription drug benefit is added to the program on Jan. 1.

UnitedHealth "won't have to compete with PacifiCare. They'll have them," said Ed Kaplan, national health care practice leader for the Segal Co., an employee benefits consulting firm. He described UnitedHealth, which has made a number of recent acquisitions, as aggressive in its sales culture.

PacifiCare has been rumored to be an acquisition target for some time. Phanstiel acknowledged that on Wednesday.

"Our board has been actively engaging with management over a two-year period in assessing, evaluating and exploring all the strategic options in an industry that's obviously consolidating," he said.

But whether consolidation will be good for the consumer remains to be seen.

By integrating markets, the combined company may learn more about how different kinds of medical practice patterns work in various communities, said Hal Luft, professor of health economics and health policy at UCSF.

A consumer advocacy group disagreed. "Consumers will have fewer choices, and costs will go up," said Jerry Flanagan, health advocate for the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, based in Santa Monica.


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PacifiCare Health Systems
Headquarters: Cypress (Orange County)

Revenue: $12 billion

Net income: $303.2 million

Membership: 3.3 million.

UnitedHealth Group

Headquarters: Minnetonka, Minn.

Revenue: $37.2 billion

Net income: $2.6 billion

Membership: 23 million

Sources: Hoovers, Chronicle research

what i was saying is like bcbs there not paying for adr. still the only companys out there paying for adr are aetna and horizion bcbs of nj and kasier pem
sorry for the confusion
chuck