(Chicago) – Extra: UnitedHealthcare has won a $3.6 billion contract to provide health care insurance benefits for retired Illinois state employees.
As the Affordable Care Act went live today, the Illinois Department of Central Management Services todayissued a notice that it will award contracts to UnitedHealthcare and two other companies to provide Medicare supplemental coverage, a 10-year deal that totals $4,186,927,315.
It’s a whopper of an award.
Here are the winners:
UnitedHealthcare $3,657,979,429.00 Humana Health Plan, Inc. $295,819,526.00 Humana Benefit Plan of Illinois Inc. $13,157,902.00 Aetna Life Insurance Company $219,970,458.00 CMS had announced in June that it was seeking offers for a nationwide Medicare Advantage PPO plan with prescription drug coverage, and/or Medicare Advantage HMO plan(s) with prescription drug coverage, and/or a nationwide group Medicare Supplement plan and Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (PDP) for Medicare-eligible retirees and their eligible dependents.
The state’s objective, according to CMS, is to save on insurance costs and satisfy an agreement reached by Governor Pat Quinn with the employees’ union, AFSCME Council 31.
The contracts begin on October 15, 2013.
Read the entire article here.
Fred Klonsky 
The providers listed will require many Medicare age retirees to change doctors and hospitals. In other instances they will have to accept the PPO plan which requires higher copays and deductibles. This is disparate treatment of age 65+ retirees.
This information from the Illinois Observer is false. There is NO Medicare Supplement Plan being offered to Retirees……only Medicare Advantage Plans.