Health & Fitness
Health and Fitness
Health and Fitness
Wed, June 16, 2010
Tue, June 15, 2010 
CHICAGO--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Zacks.com Analyst Blog features: UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: [ UNH ]), Cigna Corp. (NYSE: [ CI ]), Humana Inc. (NYSE: [ HUM ]), Verizon Communications (NYSE: [ VZ ]) and Ford Motor Company (NYSE: [ F ]).
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Here are highlights from Mondaya™s Analyst Blog:
UnitedHealth Lowers Advocacy Costs
In an effort to mold the legislation in its favor, health insurer UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: [ UNH ]) has been reported to have spent $660,000 during the first three months of 2010. This amount is 56% lower than the $1.5 million spent on lobbying the federal government in the same period a year ago and 30% lower than $940,000 spent in the final quarter of 2009.
Minnesota-based UnitedHealth lobbied on a large number of provisions that will come into effect gradually over the next four years. These include expanding Medicaid eligibility, subsidizing insurance premiums, providing incentives for businesses to offer health care benefits, prohibiting the denial of coverage/claims based on pre-existing conditions, establishing health insurance exchanges, and supporting medical research.
Besides advocating against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), UnitedHealth also lobbied against the Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act, which aimed at rolling back the anti-trust exemptions enjoyed by the insurance industry. The American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act of 2010 was also one of the Acts that the company tried to influence.
Besides the Congress, UnitedHealth also lobbied the U.S. departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services.
Peers Cigna Corp. (NYSE: [ CI ]) and Humana Inc. (NYSE: [ HUM ]), who spent $400,000 and $248,000, respectively, during the first quarter, have also lowered their expenses compared with the corresponding 2009 period. Last year, when the health reform debate was at its peak, the health sector spent approximately half a billion dollars on lobbying.
The companies in the health insurance sector have been exposed to the uncertainties of the PPACA, which was signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010, though the degree of vulnerability varies.
UnitedHealth which derives almost one-fourth of earnings from Medicare Advantage plan, is most exposed to the health care reform that has brought spending cuts in the plan. Though the actual impact of the Act on the company will be mixed, the details will become clearer as the law unfolds.
Verizon Lowers CO2 Emissions
Verizon Communications (NYSE: [ VZ ]), a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wire line communications services, will buy natural gas vans from Ford Motor Company (NYSE: [ F ]) in its effort to conserve energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the quality of air.
Verizon will add 501 Ford E-250 cargo vans equipped with engines that burn compressed natural gas (CNG) compared with conventional gas models and expect the vans to save 1.62 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year.
The company is finding ways to increase the efficiency of its fleet. CNG, a clean, rich and renewable source of energy, is also cheaper than other fuels such as gasoline or diesel. The company plans to use the Ford E-250 cargo vans in its major markets throughout the country that have fueling stations for CNG.
These cargo vans will be primarily used by technicians who install and maintain phones and FiOS TV and Internet services for homes and businesses. At the end of the first quarter 2010, Verizon added 168,000 and 185,000 new customers for its FiOS TV and FiOS Internet services and ended the quarter with 3 million (up 36.6%) and 3.6 million (up 30.2%) FiOS TV customers and FiOS Internet customers, respectively. The penetration rate of FiOS Internet and FiOS TV averaged 28.8% and 25.2% across all markets, respectively.
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