News in brief - May 4, 2009

Cigna offers cost estimator tools

After 18 months of trials with about 200 doctors and hospitals, Cigna's Cost of Care Estimator, as of April 27, was made available to all of the 550,000 clinics, hospitals and network physicians contracted with the plan.

The online tool offers real-time estimates of how much a patient will owe and what Cigna will pay for a given service (www.cignaforhcp.com).

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Maryland fines Coventry for unclear policy

Coventry Health Care's Delaware affiliate has been ordered to pay $25,000 and to fix its benefit summaries for members to more thoroughly explain how the company determines out-of-network benefits.

The Maryland Insurance Administration found that Coventry Health Care of Delaware materials didn't explain that the plan only pays a percentage of allowable charges for out-of-network care, and that the member could be responsible for paying the remainder of the out-of-network charges.

The company did not admit any wrongdoing but agreed to correct its materials within 120 days and pay the fine.

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Walgreens sets e-Rx record

Walgreen Co. announced that it set a record in March for the number of prescriptions it received electronically.

The Deerfield, Ill.-based drugstore chain said it filled 3.1 million prescriptions electronically, a 211% increase compared with March 2008. In all, the electronic prescriptions accounted for about 15% of all prescriptions filled at Walgreens stores.

The company estimates it will fill 40 million electronic prescriptions this year, compared with 15 million last year.

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3 million and counting using Kaiser's PHR

Kaiser Permanente is boasting it has the most widely used personal health record system in the nation.

The managed care organization says more than 3 million of its 8.6 million members are using its My Health Manager system. It said it is enrolling about 80,000 users each month for the PHR system that allows patients to access their medical records, e-mail their physicians, order prescriptions, view lab results and schedule appointments. The PHR is connected to Kaiser's systemwide HealthConnect electronic medical record system.

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