Here Come the Health Coaches - Aetna Locks Contract with Bank of America for Health Insurance for 3 Years – Cigna Lines Up 3 Major Employers

This is a pretty long substantial contract and perhaps it will be more affordable as the tellers that I deal with at Bank of America state they wished they could afford what the company provides but many are single mothers and on what a teller earns, they can’t afford it. If one is determined to be a “poor risk” they will be assigned a health advocate to discuss their treatments and conditions, aka a coach perhaps. Bank of America also plans to cut 30,000 to 35,000 jobs over the next 3 years.

Cigna will be searching for those employees with 10 health conditions, including asthma, congestive heart failure, depression and diabetes via analyzing claim data on file. Both companies can also potentially find a health record file of claims in the MIB if you have not been insured with one of the companies prior. Cigna states the coaches are either licensed nurses or social workers and plans to offer the program to their own employees. Here come the new algorithms and business intelligence solutions:

Health Care Insurers Suggest Algorithms and Business Intelligence solutions to provide health insurance solution

What is strange too is that recently the Government Accounting Office came out and said preventive healthcare doesn’t save money, so which is it? We all want good healthcare in the long run. Just like United and Blue Cross, it sounds like both Aetna and Cigna want to be the “carrier of choice for national accounts”. On thing I noticed missing when I read this article though was the mention of any doctor or physician participation for the success of the program, did I miss something? BD

At a time when major health insurers are facing declining enrollment in employer-sponsored plans, several are rolling out the red carpet with new tailored coverage packages in an attempt to hold on to valuable commercial membership. As part of the contract, Aetna has launched "concierge care" for Bank of America workers. Whether they have a health or administrative issue, they need only call one toll-free number and an Aetna attendant can access their medical or billing files to answer questions.

Both Aetna and Cigna have locked major corporations into multiyear contracts with products aimed at ultimately lowering employers’ health care costs.

Starting January 1, Aetna became the primary insurance carrier for Bank of America, covering about 350,000 employees and family members in a three-year contract.