The health insurance industry continues to struggle with a very real dilemma. No, not the prospect of healthcare reform. Rather, industry fully funded membership keeps falling.
According to our latest tally, fully funded membership among 21 leading managed care organizations fell 1.8% to 59.8 million as of March 31, 2009, compared to a year earlier. Among the biggest losers, Cigna’s fully funded membership was down 10%, WellPoint 6% and Health Net 6%. UnitedHealth and Aetna reported gains.
The fully funded losses–along with gains in low-premium high-deductible health plans and the possibility that healthcare reform will hurt insurance industry margins–points to a shakey long-term outlook for managed care.
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