Lately, all people talked about health care are their disappointments with the changes. Lucky for Aetna customers, they have something good to discuss. Recently, Aetna has introduced a new online resource created to assist members who have enrolled or are considering enrolling in an Aetna Consumer-Directed Health Plan (CDHP) get the most out of their plan.

Through a new page on Aetna.com, visitors can find out more about the plans, obtain guidelines on how to use these plans efficiently, and view informational videos on the two most common types of plans — Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA) and Health Savings Accounts (HSA). The site was developed using comments and opinions from Aetna’s…

Last week, Linhart Public Relations agency in Denver has announced that Rio Grande Hospital has been chosen to participate in a national telehealth program called Connected Care. Rio Grande is the fourth rural location to be selected for the service. Other telehealth sites include facilities in Buena Vista, Lamar and Leadville.

The said program will connect patients in rural areas of Colorado with medical specialists located in different places, using advanced audio and video technologies and health resources to establish a practice which is extremely similar to an in-person doctor visit.

These sites will be launched early 2010 and will grant access to more than 3,500 specialist visits per year in these…

UnitedHealthcare recently received the 2009 eValue8 Health Plan Innovation Award from the National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH) as their programs incessantly support general practitioners and patients to achieve better health outcomes.

UnitedHealthcare’s Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) program and Diabetes Health Plan were the ones recognized by the NBCH for their facility to help improve health care safety and quality while reducing costs.

“We are honored to receive this award from the National Business Coalition on Health as recognition that our company’s continued innovation is helping people live healthier lives. The Patient-Centered Medical Home and Diabetes Health Plan are examples of how consumer information and education, comprehensive program support, and financial incentives…

Everyone covered by UniCare health insurance, including the small businesses, have been provided few more days to switch to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois if they opt to.

“The original deadline was Dec. 1 for them to enroll,” said Mary Ann Schultz, manager of media relations for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois. “Members get another week to come over to (BCBS) Illinois.”

Other than their plans having reasonable rates and a larger provider network, BCBSIL is also waiving any pre-existing conditions for those currently insured by UniCare, Schultz said.

“We’re taking them right over,” Schultz said. “I know that’s a big concern for people.”

Schultz explained that BCBSIL is signing contracts…

In hopes to save $900,000 of their budget this year, the Board of Education tries to convince all school staff to switch into a new health insurance plan. The board is relying on that plan to help generate a projected $2 million budget deficit for the fiscal year that ends in June.

The board has already spent approximately $5 million on health claims with seven months still to go in the fiscal year. Officials estimate that the insurance account will be underfunded by $700,000 to $1.5 million by the end of June.

The reimbursement account approach, which would be provided by Anthem Lumenos, is the board’s solution to that problem.

The board’s proposition,…

After several weeks of evaluating and comparing bids from different health insurance providers, the County Commission has finally decided to renew their contract with their current health care provider.

Commissioner Larry Stratman of District 1 gave an explanation as to why they chose Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield over the other three health plans that were proposed.

“There are higher out-of-pocket expenses on all these plans, and (aside from Anthem) none of these rates are set in stone,” Stratman said. “These rates could change when the other companies look at our claim rates.”

As Anthem is the present health-care provider for county employees, the company is well aware of the county’s high claim…