On Wednesday, Shares of Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET), lost -0.53% to $106.93.
Aetna (AET) is improving health care transparency and assisting people in Iowa and Nebraska save money by launching its award-winning Member Payment Estimator. The Member Payment Estimator provides a more complete, personalized picture of the costs involved with health care.
Available online or through Aetna’s mobile app, the Member Payment Estimator provides real-time out-of-pocket cost estimates and cost comparisons for more than 650 commonly used, non-emergency in-network health services counting traditional or C-section births, colonoscopies, MRIs and CT scans. The tool for Aetna members displays up to 10 cost estimates at a time for a selected procedure in a geographic area, which can assist make members more aware of the cost differences among different health care providers.
Aetna’s estimates are derived from actual claims for a procedure and provider, and then calculated to comprise information based on the member’s actual benefit plan, such as their deductible, copayments and Aetna’s negotiated rates. The tool also comprises data on out-of-network providers.
According to Kaiser Family Foundation’s 2012 Health Tracking Poll, about 58 percent of households put off care because of costs. Aetna’s tool gives members an idea of costs ahead of time assisting to eliminate surprise bills or bills that are higher than predictable. For example, a quick search for a complete shoulder x-ray on the Member Payment Estimator reveals costs of $552.48 at Provider A, $210.85 at Provider B and $46.85 at Provider C in Des Moines. In Omaha the same complete shoulder x-ray costs $297.63 at Provider A, $404.37 at Provider B and $38.63 at Provider C.
Aetna Inc. operates as a health care benefits company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Health Care, Group Insurance, and Large Case Pensions. The Health Care segment offers medical, pharmacy benefit administration services, dental, behavioral health, and vision plans on an insured basis, and an employer-funded or administrative basis.
Shares of International Business Machines Corp. NYSE:IBM), declined -1.06% to $139.78, during its last trading session.
The Peace Corps and IBM (NYSE: IBM), are launching an innovative public-private partnership to allow highly skilled corporate professionals to serve overseas in short-term, high-impact pro bono consulting assignments through the Peace Corps Response program.
The initiative, declared yesterday by Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet and Stanley S. Litow, who is IBM Vice President of Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs and president of the IBM International Foundation, is one of the first of its kind and set to launch in three countries next year.
“We are thrilled to embark on this new partnership that will bring together IBM’s multinational reach with Peace Corps’ grassroots network,” Hessler-Radelet said. “Peace Corps and IBM share a common dedication to problem-solving in a way that makes a measurable impact in the world, whether it is reinventing information and revolutionizing technology or assisting communities address pressing needs at the last mile of development.”
International Business Machines Corporation provides information technology (IT) products and services worldwide. The company’s Global Technology Services segment provides IT infrastructure and business process services, such as outsourcing, processing, integrated technology, cloud, and technology support.
Finally, Shares of Warren Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:WRES), ended its last trade with -16.32% loss, and closed at $0.180.
Warren Resources, declared that President and Chief Executive Officer James A. Watt was designated a director effective November 23, 2015. Mr. Watt will fill one of the current vacancies on the Board of Directors and will stand for re-election at the 2016 annual meeting of stockholders.
In addition, Frank T. Smith, Jr. has been designated Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Company effective November 25, 2015. Brian Gelman, who has served as Interim Chief Financial Officer since November 6, 2015, has stepped down from this role and will continue as Chief Accounting Officer and Controller.
“We are happy to appoint Jim as a director. We believe his role as President and Chief Executive Officer and his leadership experience will make him a valuable addition to the Board,” said Chairman of the Board Dominick D’Alleva.
Mr. Watt said, “We are also happy to welcome Frank to the Warren administration team. Frank is an exceptional hire for Warren and we believe that his decades of experience with oil and gas finance and as a chief financial officer will provide the Company with sophisticated and sound financial judgment as we navigate through the current economy and take the Company to the next level.”
Warren Resources, Inc., an independent energy company, engages in the exploration, development, and production of domestic onshore crude oil and gas reserves. The company primarily focuses on the exploration and development of water flood oil recovery projects in the Wilmington field within the Los Angeles Basin of California; and coal bed methane natural gas properties located in the Rocky Mountain region.