HEALTH PLANS LURE SMALL FIRMS.Byline: Evan Pondel Staff Writer Aetna Inc. unveiled several new health plans for small employers Wednesday, a much-anticipated move for a company that is attempting to wrangle more business in California. The new products will target businesses with four to 50 employees by offering about 14 different plan designs. Marketed as the Pick-A-Plan approach, the products will include a health maintenance organization, exclusive provider organization exclusive provider organization (EPO), n a dental benefits plan that provides benefits only if care is rendered by institutional and professional providers with whom the plan contracts (with some exceptions for emergency and out-of-area services). and preferred provider organization pre·ferred provider organization n. Abbr. PPO A medical insurance plan in which members receive more coverage if they choose health care providers approved by or affiliated with the plan. . ``We have analyzed what we need to do in California,'' said Chris Hakim, Aetna's general manager for small group products in the state. At a time when soaring health care costs are a deterrent for many companies, the small-business sector remains an alluring prospect for managed care groups. ``Most of the employers in this country are in the small-business segment,'' Hakim said Hakim Mohammed Said (Urdu: حکیم محمد سعید) (January 9, 1920 - October 17,1998) was a renowned scholar, philanthropist of Pakistan and former Governor of Sindh. He established Hamdard Foundation in 1948. . The Hartford, Conn.-based company developed technology in the last two years that will adapt health plans according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. an employer's size. The result is a new suite of plans that allows employers and employees to determine how much to invest in monthly premiums compared with out-of-pocket expenses out-of-pocket expenses n. moneys paid directly for necessary items by a contractor, trustee, executor, administrator or any person responsible to cover expenses not detailed by agreement. incurred when services are received. Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California, said the greatest concern regarding these products is that employees will pay significantly more for their benefits. ``More employers are shifting more cost to their workers as a result of these plans,'' he said. ``But at the same time, some health care companies are simply making it easier for businesses to gain access to health care.'' Other health care companies are attempting to broaden their range. This November, Blue Cross of California rolled out its Power Select HMO HMO health maintenance organization. HMO n. A corporation that is financed by insurance premiums and has member physicians and professional staff who provide curative and preventive medicine within certain financial, . Directed toward employers with more than 51 employees, the health care company said the plan is priced about 15 percent lower than other products on the market. Aetna shares rose nine cents to close at $66.64 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. . Evan Pondel, (818) 713-3662 evan.pondel(at)dailynews.com |
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