PacifiCare to End Individual, Employer Coverage in Butte County
PacifiCare has announced that it will terminate its individual and employer-based coverage in Butte County over the course of 2002, the Chico Enterprise-Record reports. PacifiCare spokesperson Cheryl Randolph said that rising health care costs and employers' unwillingness to pay for increased premiums led to the decision. Tovey Giezentanner, another company spokesperson, said that termination dates will vary depending on when the last contracts with employers and individuals were signed. PacifiCare members in the county who are insured through the California Public Employees Retirement System will retain their coverage through the end of 2002 because of an agreement between the two groups. The Enterprise-Record reports that PacifiCare's withdrawal will not affect the roughly 5,000 Butte County residents covered by Secure Horizons, the company's Medicare+Choice plan. Secure Horizons will remain in the county "at least through the end of 2002" (Mitchell, Chico Enterprise-Record, 10/2).
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