PacifiCare To Launch Three New Individual Health Insurance Plans Next Year
Officials at PacifiCare Health Systems on Wednesday announced plans to launch three new individual health insurance plans in California on Jan. 1, the Orange County Register reports. PacifiCare will price the three preferred provider organization plans based on the level of benefits provided, as well as the age and medical histories of those who apply for them, company spokesperson Cheryl Randolph said. The most expensive of the three plans has $1,000 deductible and includes a prescription drug benefit with $10 copayments for generic treatments and $35 copays for brand-name medications. The least expensive of the three plans, a $3,000 deductible plan, does not have a prescription drug benefit. The announcement of the three new plans marks an effort by PacifiCare to "wade further into the non-employer-based market" in California, a market "dominated" by Blue Cross of California, Blue Shield of California and Kaiser Permanente, the Register reports. In the past few years, PacifiCare has faced a number of financial problems as a result of an "over-reliance" on Medicare HMOs, a "slow to no-growth business" that accounts for more than half of the company's revenue, the Register reports (Wolfson, Orange County Register, 12/5).
This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.