Recently, Humana Military Healthcare Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Humana Inc. (HUM), announced the availability of an additional benefit for the beneficiaries of the TRICARE program (a medical program under the Department of Defense) in the South Region.  Humana Military Healthcare Services offers health insurance coverage under the TRICARE program to the dependents of active duty military personnel and retired military personnel coupled with their dependents. Humana Military has been a contractor of the Department of Defense for the administration of the TRICARE program since Jul 1, 1996.  The new benefit provides the families of soldiers enrolled in the TRICARE program access to a Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Management Program. They will be able to call a dedicated registered nurse and receive education and coaching on how to deal with this lung disease which blocks airflow thereby resulting in breathing difficulties.  Humana started ...

Recently Humana Inc. (HUM) announced that its Medicare coverage in 3 California countries is expanding. Members eligible for Medicare in Fresno , San Bernardino and Riverside can enroll in a Humana Gold Plus health maintenance organization (HMO) plan. Coverage would be effective from Jan. 1, 2010.  The expansion has been approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The gold plus plan acts as a supplemental coverage to Medicare. Members can choose a primary care physician in the plan network.  The other benefits of the plan include no or low monthly plan premiums, low co-payments for visits to doctors and annual routine physicals, coverage for most annual screenings at no charge, and worldwide emergency coverage. The persons opting for this plan will enjoy discounts on vision and hearing care, prescriptions, and complimentary and alternative medicine.  The period for enrollment to the Humana Gold ...

U.S. stocks rose for a fifth day on Thursday as a larger than expected drop in U.S. jobless claims and an upbeat forecast from consumer goods maker Procter & Gamble added to enthusiasm that the economy is on track for a rebound.  Energy shares advanced, helped by rising forecasts for oil demand.  Nevertheless, given September’s weak track record, market participants have been bracing for a pullback.

On Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 80.26 points, or 0.8%, to 9,627.48, its highest close since October 6.  The broader S&P 500 index advanced 10.77 points, or 1%, to 1,044.14, its first five-day climb since November.  The Nasdaq composite index rose 23.63 points, or 1.2%, to 2,084.02.  With traders eschewing safe havens, yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.35%. The yield on the 30-year notes declined to 4.20%.

As the holiday-shortened week comes to an end today, investors

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Democrats in Congress have asked the nation’s biggest health insurers to provide data on executive compensation and bonus, profit margins, corporate retreats and spending and premium charges as part of its investigation of the private health insurance industry.

The inquiry is in an effort to change the debate to focus on health insurers rather than focusing on the solutions to health care concerns. There was also dispute over the creation of a government-run health system along private insurers. The Democrats are trying to examine whether business practices of the industry oppose Obama’s proposal for a public health insurance plan.

The US House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Henry Waxman sent letters to 52 insurance companies on Monday, asking them to provide details on CEO pay, profit and other data by next month. These include American International Group Inc. (AIG), Hartford Financial Services (HIG), Aetna Inc. (AET),

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CIGNA Corp. (CI) cut its full-year profit outlook, sending shares lower by about 4%.

The insurer projects full-year earnings between $3.70 and $3.90 per share, down from its February forecast of $3.95 to $4.25. Analysts expect earnings of $3.89 per share.

Furthermore, Cigna expects health plan membership to decline between 3% and 4% in 2009.

For the first quarter, net income advanced year over year, but adjusted earnings per share fell short of the consensus.

This Zacks #3 Rank ("Hold") is moving on a lower-than-normal volume of 2.3 million shares, against the daily average of almost 4 million.

"CI" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?Zacks Investment Research

Fitch Ratings cut its issuer default rating on Cigna Corp. (CI) today as it remains concerned about the health insurer's equity and financial flexibility.

Cigna incurred huge losses from its runoff reinsurance businesses in 2008, which weakened its financial position.

A month earlier, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services had reduced its rating for similar reasons.

However, the agency raised Cigna's outlook to "Stable" from "Negative" and expects good earnings from the company this year.

Analysts are positive on the long-term prospects of the company as they have raised their 2010 earnings estimate in last week by 3 cents to $4.20 per share.

Cigna is a Zacks #3 Rank ("Hold") company.

"CI" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?Zacks Investment Research

Maverick CapitalMaverick Capital Management Holdings AnalysisThis post is being written as part of HedgeFundBlogger.com's Investment Securities Tool which analyzes the holdings of hedge fund managers.Lee Ainslie started Maverick Capital back in 1993 with $38 million. Nowadays, the fund is worth $10 billion. Ainslie, like many of the other fund managers I've profiled, has a background rooted in learning from legendary great Julian Robertson at Tiger Management. So, due to the fact that these proteges learned from the best and have had great success running their own hedge funds, I continually try to find a reason not to follow these funds. And, needless to say I'm never successful. Some contacts over at Maverick have explained that their hedge fund strategy is straight up stock picking, both long and short. They made ...