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News of the Day ... In Perspective02/13/2006Industry �land grab� sparked by Medicare drug benefit Before Medicare Part D, the insurance industry didn�t sell a stand-alone drug benefit. But now that the government has eliminated their most of their down-side risk, insurers are scrambling to capture their �fair share� of 42 million customers. Part D is a tremendous growth opportunity as the industry�s traditional business�administering employer health benefits�is stagnant or shrinking. The largest player is UnitedHealth, which has 500 customer-service representatives at its call center. The top reason they give for buying their plan is that it�s the only one endorsed by AARP, �the most respected organization serving older Americans.� UnitedHealth has a 10-year contract with AARP that started in 1998. The two co-market Medigap policies under the AARP name. In 2004, UnitedHealth collected $4.5 billion in premiums from AARP-related products. Lois Quam, head of Ovations, the UnitedHealth group that oversees products for seniors, calls the company�s tie with AARP �a relationship we treasure.� Human hopes to snare many seniors who buy its drug plan into a comprehensive Medicare Advantage plan. Its �super low� premiums are designed to take advantage of this �one-shot opportunity� (Wall Street J 1/25/06). Additional information:
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