Skip to Content
Business Agenda

UnitedHealth facing 'price war' from competitors

By Dan Haugen | 04/24/09

It's a buyer's market, and not just for airline seats.

BusinessWeek reports that health insurers are now joining the ranks of companies offering deals to win over customers in this down economy. "There's a price war going on now," one consultant tells the magazine.

UnitedHealth Group is sticking to its "long haul" pricing approach, but its competitors are swooping in with bargains to steal its market share.

Don't expect health insurance deflation anytime soon, though. One of the article's anecdotes: A publisher switched to Humana after UnitedHealth wanted to charge it 50 percent more. Humana, meanwhile, offered to implement a mere 17 percent increase.