Morning Briefing: Doctors warn regulators over health insurance mergers

Doctors warn regulators over health insurance mergers… Swiss Re profits increase but fall short… Lloyds pledges to help drive insurance markets in Asia…

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Doctors warn regulators over health insurance mergers
A professional body for family doctors has warned regulators that mergers in the health insurance sector could affect choice and raise costs. The American Academy of Family Physicians says that with four out of the five largest US health insurers in merger talks and two Medicaid managed care companies Centene and HealthNet also set to combine, there is a potential impact on patient care.

In letters to Congress and the US Justice Department’s Antitrust Division the academy wrote: “The AAFP is profoundly concerned that these mergers, if allowed to be finalized, may result in decreased choice for consumers, higher costs for purchasers, and potentially establish mass disruptions in continuity of care due to changing and narrowing networks of physicians and hospitals.”

The letters also say that insurance companies will have “increased leverage and unfair power” and that consolidation in the health insurance sector will lead to an increase in mergers within the healthcare sector.
 
Swiss Re profits increase but fall short
The world’s second largest reinsurance company reported its second quarter financial results Thursday but fell short of market expectations. Swiss Re reported net profit of $820 million, up 2 per cent; analysts were expecting $835 million. However the firm’s chief financial officer David Cole told CNBC that the Zurich-based firm was on-target to achieve its financial goals: "Overall, we see that we have a very strong market position on the life and health side, we have a good quality portfolio and I think most importantly, good relationships with our clients." Fewer natural disasters and better yields from investments helped Swiss Re increase profits.
 
Lloyds pledges to help drive insurance markets in Asia
Lloyds of London has joined with the UK government in a bid to drive better penetration of insurance in Asia. The region is the world's most natural catastrophe-prone region. However, on average, less than 5 per cent of likely economic losses are insured when disaster strikes. This means that one major catastrophe could wipe out decades of economic progress. That has prompted a Statement of Intent to be signed by the British Government, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Lloyd’s. The three parties committed to working together to share knowledge and expertise with partners across the region. They hope this will help to identify threats facing regional economies and support the development of new risk transfer solutions. Other firms in the insurance industry across Asia are now invited to join the commitment and sign the SOI.
 
 

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