NASHVILLE, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- Forty stand-alone Rx drug plans vying for California market share are driving down premiums there, says a new study.
"In California, the competition has driven the average premium rate down to $25.41," said John Leighty, a managed care industry analyst with HealthLeaders-InterStudy, which conducted the study. "Six plans are charging $20, the lowest in the nation," he said.
Nineteen health insurers are sponsoring the 40 Medicare prescription drug plans to 4.3 million eligible California seniors, making a bid for market share in the Golden State costly and competitive, the study found.
An advertising and promotional blitz by health insurers coincides with the U.S. government's $300 million national educational program for the plans, which begin coverage January 1, HealthLeaders said.
The research firm also found:
Despite some erosion in recent years, California's commercial HMO
penetration remained fairly steady between January 2004 and January
2005.
The 1.2 million-member California Public Employees Retirement System
wants to use the collective muscle of the nation's largest healthcare
purchaser to get lower hospital pricing.
About 1,300 physicians with high ratings for clinical performance and
cost effectiveness have been selected for a CIGNA Care Network in
Southern California that is being rolled out in January 2006.
