CIGNA Corp. said that it will close its claim-processing center in Loughrea, Ireland, in June and cut all 180 jobs there roughly six years after the company began expanding the office. The layoffs are considered part of the 1,000 U.S. jobs CIGNA is cutting because the Irish employees process claims from U.S.-based customers. CIGNA is automating and outsourcing the work from Ireland to vendors to reduce costs.
A new Tennessee law that allows small businesses to form cooperatives to buy health insurance went into effect, but only one insurer has developed a product under the law, whose supporters had hoped it would stabilize rates by spreading risk. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee is seeking groups to pilot up to 10 co-ops statewide, starting in March. But a spokesman said it isn't clear how interested small businesses will be. Insurers and businesses in other states that passed similar laws recently have been slow to sign on, and some of them question the potential for savings.
Rising deductibles on health insurance policies is adding to the financial problems forcing some Nashville-area residents to delay needed medical care. Due to the job losses and higher unemployment in Tennessee, the higher costs run the risk of creating sicker patients who put off care too long, critics say. The trend could also mean less revenue for cash-strapped hospitals, doctors, and other providers as the national economy slows down.
Within days of taking office, President-elect Barack Obama will rescind a Bush administration policy that has impeded state efforts to provide health insurance to children from low- and middle-income families, aides and advisers announced. The policy is one of many that the new administration hopes to change or withdraw in its first weeks in office. Obama has said, for example, that he objects to a Bush administration rule that grants sweeping new protections to health workers who refuse to provide care because of their "religious beliefs or moral convictions."
Rhode Island Gov. Donald L. Carcieri wants the state's community hospitals to give up nearly $32 million in the coming months to help solve the state government's financial troubles. The money, which was supposed to help reimburse hospitals that give free care to the uninsured, is part of Carcieri's $357-million midyear budget repair plan. But lawmakers, hospital administrators, and the health insurance industry have attacked the hospital cut as irresponsible and dangerous.
Bristol (CT) Hospital ended its fiscal year with a small operating profit, although its parent company sustained a loss, the hospital announced. It was the first time since 2003 that the hospital made money and the second year in a row that it finished without the hefty annual deficits that added up to a $14 million loss between 2004 and 2006. President Kurt Barwis said perhaps the biggest achievement of the year was staying committed to long-term improvements. The hospital's $169,000 year-end profit could have been far larger if officials hadn't recruited new physicians, prepared for expansion of the cancer care center, and made other upgrades, Barwis said.