Health Insurance - Top 5 Firms Iowa

Aetna Inc.
Aetna is one of the most active health insurance companies in the US. The company operates in three segments. Its Health Care division offers HMOs, PPOs, point-of-service (POS) plans, health savings accounts, and traditional indemnity coverage, along with dental, vision, behavioral health, and Medicare plans. Aetna covers more than 15 million individuals under its health plans, some 13 million dental plan members, and 10 million pharmacy members. Its Group Insurance segment sells life, disability, and long-term care insurance, covering about 15 million people. The Large Case Pensions segment offers pensions, annuities, and other retirement savings products.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association
The rise of managed health care has had some of its members singing the blues, but the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association still has major market power. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association coordinates about 40 chapters that provide health care coverage to over 90 million Americans through indemnity insurance, Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), preferred provider organizations (PPOs), point-of-service (POS) plans, and fee-for-service plans. Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association chapters also administer Medicare plans for the federal government.

CIGNA Corporation One of the top US health insurers, CIGNA covers more than 9 million people with its various medical plans, which include PPO, HMO, point-of-service (POS), indemnity, and consumer-directed products. CIGNA also offers other health coverage in the form of dental, vision, pharmacy, and behavioral health plans; and it sells group accident, life, and disability insurance. Its customers include employers, government entities, unions, Medicare recipients, and other individuals in the US and Canada. Internationally, the company sells life, accident, and supplemental health insurance in parts of Asia, the European Union, and Chile and provides health coverage to expatriate employees of multi-national companies.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
The second largest health insurer in the US (behind WellPoint), it operates through four business segments and offers a variety of health care plans and services. Its Health Care Services segment manages HMO, PPO, and POS (point-of-service) plans, as well as various Medicare and Medicaid options. Members of AARP are served via the firm's Ovations unit. Uniprise handles health plans for large companies, and Specialized Care Services offers just that -- vision and dental care and other products and services. Ingenix provides health information consulting and publishing, as well as clinical research and drug marketing services.

WellPoint, Inc.
The nation's largest health insurer, WellPoint is finding out what B. B. King already knows: Getting the blues ain't easy. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides health coverage, primarily under the Blue Cross and Blue Shield name, to more than 34 million medical members. It is a Blue Cross or BCBS licensee in 14 states and provides plans under the Unicare name in other parts of the country. WellPoint offers a broad range of managed care plans (including PPO, HMO, indemnity, and hybrid plans) to employers, individuals, and recipients of Medicare and Medicaid. It also provides administrative services (claims processing and underwriting) to self-insured groups and specialty insurance products.

This list represents an opinion by Interaction Media Group staff and in no way is meant to imply actual quality and rank of the company in this industry.