Don’t Cry for Managed Care Companies
Q2 2009 Managed Care Profits Stagnate
by Carl Mercurio
Second-quarter 2009 net income for the healthcare operations of 10 top managed care organizations rose 1% to $2.095 billion on revenues of $65.433 billion, up 5.6%, according to a tally in the latest issue of Managed Healthcare Market Report.
The figures include United Healthcare Services (United Healthcare, Ovations, AmeriChoice) Aetna Healthcare and Cigna HealthCare. Including the corporate parents, second-quarter net income rose 32% to $2.776 billion on revenues of $68.67 billion, up 5.2% — largely because in 2008 United took nearly $1 billion in charges to settle class action litigation related to its stock options practices.
BCBS Louisiana Billing Guidlines to Change February 2, 2010
The following announcement has been posted in RED on the BCBS of Louisiana provider billing guidelines, online at: BCBS Louisiana’s Provider Manual.
Updated Billing Guidelines
Please note that new Anesthesia Billing Guidelines will be effective February 2, 2010. Providers will receive advanced notification of the new guidelines and this manual will be updated accordingly. BCBS Louisiana Provider Manual 2009 Rev1:3, page 42 of 92
It appears that BCBS of Louisiana is prepared to release new billing requirements even before they have completed the contracting with the state’s anesthesia providers. This is a risky proposition since most providers are anxiously awaiting the new contract rates and the proposed provider (MD/CRNA) spit by BCBS of Louisiana. In a recent email from Stacy Musgrove, BCBS Network Development, he indicated that BCBS has pushed back the mailing date for new BCBS anesthesia provider contracts from Juy 1 to August 1.
