CRIMINALS OBAMA, PELOSI & REID ET. AL. - THE TRUTH (CONT.) ILLINOIS. From ChicagoBusiness (Sep. 30, 2013): Obamacares big winner in Illinois. Intended by the Obama administration to spark competition, the health insurance exchange in Illinois instead is likely to strengthen the states largest insurer, Blue Cross & Blue Shield. Small-business owners in the Chicago area will find fewer choices on the exchange than in the private market. Humana Inc. and Aetna Inc., the states third- and fourth-largest insurers for small groups, respectively, are selling only individual policies on the exchange, Quinn administration officials disclosed last week. “Its very likely the rich are going to get richer on this one,” says Steve Riedl, a Chicago-based senior consulting actuary at Towers Watson. Only two companies agreed to cover all of Illinois. In one corner stands Blue Cross, a division of Chicago-based Health Care Service Corp. that wrote $10.03 billion in premiums in 2012. Small businesses in five of the six counties in the Chicago area will have just those two options. In Will County, Health Alliance Medical Plans, the insurance arm of Urbana-based hospital network Carle Foundation, also will sell small group plans. Blue Cross strong contracts with health care providers discouraged Health Alliance from extending its reach into the Chicago area, says Jeff Ingrum, president and CEO of the insurer, the fifth-largest for small groups. “We wouldnt be able to have a competitive price in that market,” he says. A spokeswoman for Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna Inc. and its subsidiary, Coventry Health Care Inc., declines to comment. A spokesman for Louisville, Ky.-based Humana Inc., didnt respond to requests for comment.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Oct 2013 10:41:20 +0000
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