Big Calif. TPA Seeks CDH Partner; New Plan to Target School Districts
A brokerage firm that provides insurance and third-party administration services to California’s health care industry and many of its public schools plans to enter the CDH market with a “partnership-based private-label product.”
Henry Loubet, former CEO of United Healthcare’s western region, says his new firm, Torrance, Calif.-based Keenan & Associates, targeted the CDH arena as a “major initiative” about a year ago. Loubet, senior vice president of strategic planning, was hired to head the company’s CDH program, which is now looking to partner with an experienced CDH vendor. Loubet says the firm is still interviewing potential partners and has not yet decided whether it will select a traditional insurer based in California, such as Blue Cross of California, or a CDH vendor such as Alexandria, Va.-based Lumenos. Loubet says the firm has spoken to “all the major companies
out there” that offer CDH plans.
Keenan plans to issue a request for proposals on Oct. 1 and will choose a new partner on or about Dec. 1. The firm plans to begin marketing a new CDH product to its 1,000 clients next spring and hopes clients will go live with the plans around July 1, 2004, according to Loubet.
Keenan would sell the product to clients bundled with its existing BenefitChoices offering, which features traditional health plans, online enrollment and additional services such as disability and life insurance. Loubet says the program will be based on certain levels of customization with clients. For instance, Keenan expects to do some direct contracting with provider networks because many of the 800 school districts it represents might find a narrow-network product to be more affordable, he explains. The plan also will feature disease management and a wellness/health promotion program.
School districts make up about 75% of Keenan’s business. Through focus groups, the firm has been trying to gauge the interest from school employees and identify what plan-design elements they would prefer.
“In the true spirit of consumerism, we’re learning from our consumers,” he says.
Loubet says he has no great expectations for enrollment in the first year, especially since the plan will be a “slice offering” alongside the firm’s other health plan products. “We’re just going to put it out there and see what happens. We expect it to build over time,” he says.
Contact Loubet at (800) 344-8507.
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