Health Care Reform May Breed Diversification

The implications of health care reform may significantly alter the operational pose of many health insurers.

Speaking at the Reuters Healthcare Summit in New York, Aetna President Mark Bertolini told attendees that his company would to offer a wider range of health care services as the new law constrains traditional, insurance-related profit centers. He singled out health care IT as an area in particular need of innovation, citing estimates that 30% of health care spending, some $750 billion annually, is wasted. 

Bertolini added that better application of information technology is the best way to chip away at fraud and waste.

Aetna’s president also was cool on Republican vows to repeal and replace the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, saying such efforts may only produce a stalemate and an accompanying shutdown of funding.

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