Now, that touch could get a lot more personal. United's health services wing is quietly taking control of doctors who treat patients covered by United plans in several areas of the country -- buying medical groups and launching physician management companies, for example.
It's the latest sign that the barrier between companies that provide health coverage and those that actually provide care to patients is crumbling.
Other large insurers, including Humana and WellPoint, have announced deals involving doctors in recent months, part of a strategy to curb rising health costs that could cut into profits and to weather new challenges to their business arising from the federal health law. But United is the biggest insurer by revenue, making the trend much more significant.
Many patients insured by these companies are going to see much tighter management of their care.
"Health care costs are still going to rise," said Wayne DeVeydt, chief financial officer of WellPoint, which entered the business of running clinics in June with the announcement that it would acquire CareMore, a health plan operator based near Los Angeles that owns 26 clinics. "But the only way to stem those costs in the long term is to manage care on the front end."
That means enlisting doctors. Their orders drive most health care spending, including the wasteful share: treating heart patients with expensive stents when cheaper drugs might work, or overusing high-tech imaging devices, for example. By managing doctors directly, insurers believe they can reshape the practice of medicine - and protect their profits.
Read the rest of the story from Kaiser Health News.
