COLORADO EDITION

Legislative Update

Governor Bill Owens (R) vetoed S.B. 198, onerous provider contracting legislation, on May 26. Governor Owens cited the “unnecessary intrusion by the government into the contracts between private parties” as the primary reason for his veto. The governor’s veto also expressed disappointment with the proponents of SB 198 and their failure to adopt his office’s strike-below amendments which were specifically tailored to address the provider community’s administrative burdens and lack of transparency concerns. The governor’s veto message ends with a request that interested parties continue the dialogue in search of administrative simplification solutions and increased contracting process. In addition, the governor vetoed S.B. 11, establishing a study to analyze factors that drive the cost of health care, including rating, within Pueblo County and H.B. 1346, amending the definition of an eligible dependent and the subsequent benefit a carrier must make available to employees. The definition of an eligible dependent would have been expanded to include minors of dependents or grandchildren.

Consumerism Forum:  Redefining Health Care

On May 24, CIGNA HealthCare hosted a Consumerism Forum on Redefining Health Care with an audience of 170 customers, consultants/brokers, and providers. This first-of-its-kind event focused on innovative products, services and solutions we believe will transform the way we think about health care. The audience heard from well-respected consumerism experts, and learned more about a real-life example of an employer integrating a consumer-directed health plan within his company.

Featured speakers were:

• Daryl Edmonds, President and General Manager
• Bill Reindl, Senior Vice President, Consumerism
• Bob Roesch, Director of Human Resources, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), client speaker

Participant feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with over 90% rating the overall experience as excellent or very good.

If you were unable to attend the Forum and would like to receive information related to the topics, please contact your CIGNA HealthCare sales representative.

If you did attend the Forum, we appreciate your attendance, and trust that you found the presentations and dialogue informative and valuable. 

LOCAL SPOTLIGHT

Where We Are

3900 East Mexico Avenue #1100
Denver, CO 80210
Telephone: 303.782.1500
Fax: 303.782.1577

Who to Contact

Randy Savona
303.691.1005
Randy.Savona@CIGNA.com

Experienced Local Leadership

Daryl W. Edmonds, President and General Manager
Daryl Edmonds joined CIGNA HealthCare, as president and general manager of the Colorado health plan, in 1997. Responsible for sales and operations, Edmonds has led his management team into the 21st century as one of the only managed care organizations in the state to achieve profitability and maintain steady growth for the past eight consecutive years. Edmonds is President and Market Leader for Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Alaska, Washington and Oregon.

Edmonds, who has 19 years experience overseeing health plans, is a graduate of Kansas State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in business. He is active in the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce; serves on the board of directors of the March of Dimes as well as Cover Colorado and was a past board member of Junior Achievement; was past president of the Colorado Association of Health Plans; and serves on the Business Council on Healthcare Competition.

Randy Savona, Vice President of Sales
Randy Savona began his career in Sales with UNUM in Cranford, New Jersey.  Over the past 27 years, he has had roles of increasing responsibility in the employee benefits field; including Regional Sales Manager for UNUM, New Jersey, as well as Vice President of Disability Claims for UNUM in Tarrytown, New York.

In 1999 Randy moved to Denver, Colorado as Regional Sales Manager for Sun Life and joined CIGNA in 2003 as Regional Sales Manager for CIGNA Group Insurance. In January of 2007 he assumed sales leadership for CIGNA HealthCare as well.

Edward Fenstermacher, M.D. - Medical Director for Mountain States Region
Edward Fenstermacher, M.D., is the medical director for the mountain states region. Based in Denver, Dr. Fenstermacher oversees member health care and services and continues to build upon CIGNA’s commitment to improving transparency and empowering members to be smart health care consumers. Previously he served as a medical director for CIGNA HealthCare in Arizona, overseeing inpatient utilization of the health plan’s offerings and services. He also served as chief medical officer for Maricopa Integrated Health Care System in Arizona, and medical director for Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, the state’s managed care Medicaid agency.

Prior to entering the health benefits industry, Dr. Fenstermacher was a plastic surgeon specializing in hand and reconstructive surgeries. He served as chief of surgery at Desert Samaritan Hospital in Mesa, Arizona, and had successful clinical practices in Arizona and Wyoming. Dr. Fenstermacher also devoted a significant amount of time during his professional clinical career to performing pro bono reconstructive surgeries in Australia, Africa, South America and other impoverished areas around the world.

Dr. Fenstermacher received his M.D. from the University of Colorado’s School of Medicine in Denver. He earned a master’s degree in business administration and health services administration from Arizona State University in Tempe.