UnitedHealth Group is the parent company of the UnitedHealthcare, one of the leaders in the American health insurance industry. The company is based Minnetonka, Minnesota and was created under the name UnitedHealthcare Corporation in 1977. UnitedHealth Group was able to introduce the first ever network-based health plan for individuals aged 50 and older in 1979. The company became a publicly traded corporation in the New York Stock Exchange in 1984.

recently received an award as the “Readers Choice” winner for “Best Managed Care Organization” category in the Business Insurance, an insurance industry publication.

The company was established in 1922 by George J. Mecherle as a mutual automobile insurance company that specialized in auto insurance for farmers. Since then, State Farm has expanded its range of services into other types of insurance, including house and life insurance, as well as financial services. The company has grown into an industry leader with 67,000 employees and 17,000 agents, and is currently insuring about 40 million vehicles.

State Farm Insurance parent company is the State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, a mutual insurance firm. The company’s main office is located in Bloomington, Illinois. Since 1985, it has been headed by its chairman and chief executive officer Edward B. Rust.

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is one of the country’s oldest and largest organizations in the health insurance industry. It is also one of the largest employers in its industry, utilizing a workforce of 1,000 employees. The organization provides its healthcare insurance services to all of the country’s 50 states.

The Blue Shield and Blue Cross associations were established separately, with the Blue Shield association created earlier in 1948, while the Blue Cross association was established a lot later in 1960. Blue Shield offered provided coverage physicians’ services, while its Blue Cross counterpart covered hospital services. The two entities only joined forces in 1982, forming into the BCBSA of today.

While the organization’s headquarters is located in Chicago Illinois, its extensive network of healthcare partners has reached 90% of hospitals and 80% of physicians in the U.S. Also, its brand and services have already reached 170 countries at the present.

Aetna, a Fortune 100 company, is dedicated to helping people obtain health and financial security by offering health care, pharmacy, dental, group life, long-term care insurance and employee benefits through employer-paid insurance and benefit programs and through Medicare. Its services reach a consumer network of 18.9 million medical members, 14 million dental members and 11 million pharmacy members, while utilizing an extensive network of more than 952,000 health care professionals, 539,000 primary care doctors and specialists and 5,000 hospitals to provide its benefits across its members. As of 2008, it has a reported 35,258 members in its workforce. Aetna’s widespread presence targets small, mid-sized and large multi-site employers and reaches all 50 of the states in the U.S.

Aetna has seen growth in its operations in recent years with increasing trends in revenues, from $1.1 billion in 2005 to $27.6 billion in 2007, and finally to $31 billion in 2008.

Plan: Blue Cross Blue Shield Association serves as the trade association for independent, locally operated Blue Cross Blue Shield companies which provides health insurance to its customers.

Why important: The thirty-nine Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies have provided millions of families with quality affordable health insurance for over seventy years. The organization and its affiliated companies serve as one of the twenty largest employers in the U.S. and provides healthcare coverage in all fifty states as well as the District of Columbia and in Puerto Rico.

Additional information: Blue Cross Blue Shield maintains headquarters in Chicago, with offices in Washington, D.C. and employs over 880 people.

Plan: Medicare/Medicaid, the federally sponsored and funded healthcare programs available to certain low income individuals, families, and elderly under federal and state law.

Why important: These programs provide the means for those who would typically lack access to health care, a minimum standard of health care access . Eligibility determinants include age, pregnant or not, disabilities, blind, aged, income and resources, and citizenship/immigrant status. These determinants can vary from state to state.

Additional information: Some states also have “State-only” programs that can provide medical assistance to poor persons who do not qualify for Medicaid. These programs do not draw from federal funding.

Plan: Insurance Technologies provides the insurance industry with software solutions , through both products and services, leveraging its insurance industry knowledge and delivering software and technology to its clients.

Why important: Insurance Technologies provides insurance companies with point-of-sale software to help insurance companies communicate how their health insurance offerings are understood, quoted, illustrated, and sold. The software provides the tools necessary to perform needs analysis, asset allocations, and create illustrations, hypotheticals, generate forms, and process applications.

Additional information: ForeSight Mobility serves as Insurance Technologies’ flagship product and enables users to concentrate on their core competencies – providing and distributing insurance plans that can make healthcare affordable for the American worker.