One of the nation's
largest health insurance companies says it will stop offering a Medicare HMO
plan in several major cities next
January. Cigna says reduced
government fees and competition lead to this decision. Other large health-care
plans, including Aetna, the country's biggest health insurer, are expected to
follow suit. Friday's announcement from
Cigna will affect approximately 104,000 Cigna Medicare HMO members. Cigna says
it will remove Medicare HMO plans from markets in Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles,
Baltimore, New York City, Washington, D.C., Orlando, Tampa, Tucson, Richmond,
Va., northern New Jersey, Connecticut, Tennessee and Delaware. Current Cigna HMO
members will have to sign up with another HMO or join the traditional Medicare
program offered by the federal
government. During the 1990s, many senior
citizens enrolled in Medicare HMOs because they had low or no premiums, and
offered benefits not available through the traditional Medicare program, such as
prescription drug coverage, an issue that's been hotly debated in
Congress. --ByKatrina
Woznicki
