Medicare Part D spells boon for local health insurance players - Nashville Business Journal:

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Nashville-based , one of the country's largest managef care organizations, added about 20,000 memberds to its prescriptiondrug plan. The plan now coverss nearly 110,000, says Mark senior vice presidentof operations. , a subsidiary of Brentwood-based Windsor Health Group Inc., enrolled about 5,000 new members in its stand-alons Part D prescription drug plan and its Medicarr Advantage with prescription drug plan inrecent That's double the company's membershi at this time last year.
"We had aboutr 5,000 enrollees total prior to this openenrollmentt period," says CEO Michael "Counting (the prescription drug plan and Medicare Advantages drug plan), we'll have grown well over 100 percent." Enrollment in these plans can be crucial, says geriatritiobn James Powers, because uninsured people who find they need an expensivw drug often go without, whicy can lead to serious healt consequences. For companies focused on offering thoswe plans to the people whoneed them, it'sx meant a surge in membersx and revenue.
"We're looking at a 15 percent revenu e increase frommembership growth, plus an additional 6 percenf from a premium increase," says Senior Vice President of Marketinyg Craig Schub. A 20 percent rise in revenue woulxd mean jumpingfrom $1.3 billion in 2006 to between $1.5 billionb and $1.6 billion in he says. HealthSpring's enrollment in Medicare Advantag e drug plans grewto 115,00 in 2006 from and is expected to reach between 130,000 and 135,00 0 in 2007, Schub says. Both companies' enrollmenyt growth was fueled by expandedcoveragde areas. HealthSpring went from offering its prescription drug plan in just five statesz to acceptingmembers nationwide.
Likewise, Windsor expanded its reach: This was the firs year Windsor offered a prescription drug for which itenrolled 3,000p members. Windsor also expanded from Middle and West Tennesseeto Mississippi, Arkansasa and Alabama. Medicare Part D started in January one of the changes ushered in by the 2003 MedicarModernization Act. The prescription drug programn has just completed its secondenrollmenrt period. The Medicare Advantage prescription plansw begana pre-election period in November and regular open enrollment runs through the end of Those who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaic can enter a plan at any but the primary enrollment period is Nov. 15 throughg March 31.
The Centers for Medicarre & Medicaid Services announced 1.4 million new enrollees in Medicare Part D betweebn June 2006and Dec. 31, bringing total enrollment to nearly24