Four years after its acquisition of PacifiCare, United HealthCare is taking big steps this fall to phase out the smaller company and transfer customers to United plans.
Coloradans with two types of PacifiCare plans — health savings accounts and preferred-provider organizations — were notified recently that those plans no longer exist and they can switch to United HealthCare plans with similar coverage and premium costs.
Company officials said the move is part of a long-term plan to end PacifiCare in Colorado. The two companies merged in 2005, an $8.2 billion deal that was the largest health-insurance merger ever in Colorado.
PacifiCare’s health-maintenance-organization plan remains intact for this year, said Will Shanley, spokesman for United HealthCare.
“It’s really a branding issue,” he said. “We are transitioning two of our products from the PacifiCare brand to the United HealthCare brand.”
Wayne Kelley, a 62-year-old Denver resident, said he was jolted by a letter two weeks ago that began, “This is to inform you that you need to choose a new health plan for 2010.”
Kelley, a retired postal worker, initially thought PacifiCare was dropping him because he had a heart attack last year.
“It just upset me,” he said.
Now he’s concerned about whether he can maintain the same benefits for the $189 monthly premium he pays now.
United officials said that in most cases, they were able to provide comparable or improved United plans for the same price.
The company refused to say how many of its 700,000 customers have PacifiCare, citing competitive reasons.
State Insurance Commissioner Marcy Morrison said United officials talked to her about the switch a few months ago.
“They are phasing out of the market,” she said. “It’s a fairly small market in this area, and they decided to move out of it.”
Jennifer Brown: 303-954-1593 or jenbrown@denverpost.com
