Wellpoint Health Networks News

Insurers such as WellPoint Inc . and Blue Cross Blue Shield and drugmakers are redoubling their efforts to fight proposals to overhaul the U.S health-care system, adding another obstacle as legislative hurdles mount.

Marietta, Ga.-based Graphic Packaging International Inc. has notified the state that it will cut 118 jobs by closing its plant in Fort Wayne.

U.S. drugmakers, medical-device companies and insurers are gearing up for another chance to make changes to House-passed legislation overhauling the health-care system when the issue moves to the Senate.

National health care reform will drive up premium costs in the private health insurance markets, particularly for the young and the healthy, according to data from a series of state-level studies from insurance company WellPoint Inc.

The Senate health care committee is investigating how health insurers, including Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc., price the coverage they sell to small businesses.

Premiums for most Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield customers in Virginia will go up if the proposed health-care reform package being considered by the Senate is put into place, the insurance company said Wednesday.

Harley-Davidson has announced that a Kentucky location is the only one it will consider if it decides to relocate its York, Pa., motorcycle plant, eliminating a site south of Indianapolis from contention.

Recently, Rep. Alan Grayson quipped on the floor of the House that the GOP health care plan amounted to: "1) Don't get sick, and 2) If you do get sick, die quickly." Yesterday, John Boehner , the top GOP man in the House, finally unveiled the official GOP plan...and did little to disprove Rep.

At this point in the health reform debate, you have to take numbers from any side with a grain of salt.

Filed under: Market matters , Stocks to Buy , Cramer on BloggingStocks TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says stocks like WellPoint are buys again because the months of rhetoric will end.

Cigna Corp. and the other five top health insurers spend a smaller share of premium revenue on health care than the 87 percent the industry cites, Senator Jay Rockefeller said in a letter to the company.

Health insurer Humana Inc. rode its strong government business in posting a 65 percent jump in third-quarter profit Monday, as bulging membership and premiums from Medicare Advantage overcame a lackluster commercial segment hampered by the weak economy.

WASHINGTON - An Indianapolis couple in their 60s in less-than-perfect health could see their health insurance premiums go down under the heath overhaul plans moving through Congress.

By: PR Newswire Oct. 29, 2009 04:21 PM INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Halloween can bring out children's fears of monsters in the closet and ghosts beneath their bed.

Read the fine print. That's what most of us have been taught. The big print gives, the small print takes away.

As Warren Buffett proved, buying and holding is the key to great investing. But how do you know you're not holding on to a loser ? Aside from glancing at an earnings release, the only information many investors get about a stock comes from its price.

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance Also Included In: Swine Flu Article Date: 30 Oct 2009 - 3:00 PDT The nation's ailing economy continues to affect insurance companies, which could also face a wave of costly COBRA claims as policyholders rush to get treatment before government subsidies expire.

Everything isn't well at WellPoint . The company crushed earnings estimates for the third quarter, but it's hard for investors to get too excited.

Filed under: Earnings reports , Aetna Inc , AFLAC Inc , MetLife Inc. Even as the battle over health care reform rages on Capitol Hill, we are seeing a flurry of third quarter reports from insurers.

Indianapolis -- The largest publicly traded health insurer, WellPoint, on Wednesday reported that profits slipped 11 percent in its third quarter.