DFW firm is working to get ahead of the insurance curve Fort Worth Star Telegram
' ' & -->The Texas connections were missing from the New York-based announcement. At a time when healthcare reform was sending insurance companies scuttling for cover, three large investment firms were forming a company to offer a wide range of insurance options to small businesses, the self-employed and middle-income consumers. The partners -- The Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse -- said Insphere Insurance Solutions would become the largest independent distribution group for insurance agents in the nation. But the July announcement made no mention of Insphere's parent company, HealthMarkets of North Richland Hills, or the regulatory problems that some of HealthMarkets' other subsidiaries had faced. Nor did it mention the $37 million in settlements reached in more than 30 states amid allegations that the companies misrepresented policies and failed to pay claims for covered ailments. Or that the company's insurance subsidiaries had effectively been banned from selling their own policies in Massachusetts for five years. There was not even acknowledgement that the companies shared a chief executive. HealthMarkets, it appeared, was the country cousin or worse -- not to be mentioned, operating from its headquarters just off the main roads in Northeast Tarrant County. When Insphere formally announced that it was open on Jan. 21, it had a force of 2,200 agents, offices in more than 40 states and authorization to do business in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It also had marketing deals lined up with big names in the insurance industry: John Hancock for long-term-care insurance, Aetna and UnitedHealthcare's Golden Rule Insurance Co. for individual health plans, ING for term and universal life insurance, Minnesota Life for whole life insurance and The Plus Group Texas for products from MetLife, Principal Financial Group and The Standard. "We are extremely excited to launch Insphere Insurance Solutions nationally and offer a broad range of products that meet the needs of the underserved small-business and middle-income markets through our arrangements with leading insurance carriers," said Phillip Hildebrand, president and CEO of Insphere and HealthMarkets. "Launching an agency like Insphere during this time of evolution and change in the insurance industry is important for both consumers and agents." Insphere also distributes products written by HealthMarkets' subsidiaries, including Mega Life and Health Insurance, although sales of those products have been outstripped by the offerings of other companies in just the first quarter of operation, according to the company's 2009 annual report, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. HealthMarkets officials declined to discuss the new company or its approach to doing business, but Insphere's Web site, www.InsphereInsuranceSolutions.com , and the SEC filing make clear that they have big plans. This year, Insphere expects to expand its offerings and the size of its field force by developing additional marketing arrangements with insurance carriers or intermediaries, despite stiff competition in the industry, according to the SEC filing.
Telegraph.co.ukTo me, the evidence is overwhelming that we must end the private insurance company domination of healthcare in our country and move toward a publicly funded, single-payer, Medicare-for-all approach. Our current private health insurance system is the Video: Doctors Weigh in on Obama Health Plan What's wrong with Obama's health care plan Health-care reform -
Washington PostOnly public option will save health costsThe Insurance companies will bankrupt this country in my opinion. Its not a matter of what the public option "costs". We are already spending a fortune to pay for the uninsured and that will continue if nothing happens. Thank you Robert Reich for Morning Fix: Six Senators To Watch On Health Care Healthcare, not bailouts, could break America Maybe this explains the right-wing attack on ABC News -
ABC NewsMorning Bell: Heritage President Ed Feulner on Health CareThe architects of the President's proposals, and the sponsors of his proposals on Capitol Hill, know that once a government plan is in place, private insurance companies will be eventually run out of business. The government already owns a major bank Video: Cost a Major Issue As Senate Starts Health Care How Will We Pay For The Health Care Plan? GOP continues to knock Kennedy plan -
