Wellpoint health insurance Archives

Health insurance companies find significant potential in Medicaid

August 28, 2012April 30, 2013

Large insurers are buying out smaller ones that are better prepared to serve the elderly and poor. The largest health insurance companies in the country have been absorbing much smaller ones by the dozen as they prepare for the influx of customers through one of the latest healthcare changes by the government that will allow them to manage the coverage needs for the elderly, poor, and unwell across the country. So far, approximately 15 states are in the midst of creating their programs for this coverage. These states are each…

Amerigroup acquired by WellPoint health insurance

July 16, 2012July 16, 2012 Dan

The purchase will be for a reported $4.5 billion to play a bigger role in the expansion of Medicaid. WellPoint Inc., the health insurance company, has announced that it will be purchasing its rival Amerigroup Corp., for $4.46 billion, in a play to take a bigger part in the Medicaid expansion. This buyout was announced not long after the Supreme Court upheld the healthcare reforms The Affordable Care Act is expected o increase the number of Americans covered by health insurance by an estimated 30 million people. According to a…

IBM supercomputer to recommend action on thousands of insurance claims for WellPoint Inc

September 13, 2011September 13, 2011 H. Cutner

IBM’s famed supercomputer, Watson, is taking on a new challenge, the results of which may have a sweeping impact on the nation’s insurance industry. The supercomputer has successfully overcome several challenges in the past, including a “Jeopardy!” competition in which the computer won a decisive victory against some of the brightest minds in trivia knowledge. Watson has shown that its computing power surpasses the capabilities of a human mind and, because it is a machine, is not prone to typical human error. For this reason, the computer is now being…

California health insurer holds off on rate increase

March 22, 2011 Nordstrom

WellPoint Inc., one of the nation’s top health insurers based in California, announced earlier this year that it would be raising premiums on individual policies by 16.4%. After increased pressure from state legislators and insurance commissioner Dave Jones, however, the insurer has proposed a new increase of no more than 9.8%. Furthermore, the company has heeded Jones’ call for delays on rate hikes and has announced that the increases will not take effect until July. According to Jones, the rate increases will affect more than 600,000 policyholders in the state.…