Top 10 Managed Healthcare Companies To Buy For 2014

A series of consumer complaints against a popular electric vehicle has prompted an investigation by regulators.

Documents from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) indicate that the agency is looking at about 1,000 Ford (F) Focus EVs. The investigation was sparked by a dozen reports from consumers of sudden vehicle stalling, Reuters notes.

GM Recalls Nearly 300K Chevy Cruzes for Brake Issue

Ford says that it is cooperating with the investigation, which could potentially lead to a recall.

The agency says that the complaints were made within the last five months. The stalling events were not linked to any accidents and no injuries have been reported.

Best Railroad Stocks For 2015: Anthem Inc (ANTM)

Anthem, Inc., formerly WellPoint, Inc. (WellPoint), incorporated on July 17, 2001, is a health benefit company. The Company manages its operations through three segments: Commercial, Consumer, and Other. The Company is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), an association of independent health benefit plans. The Company offers a spectrum of network-based managed care plans to the large and small employer, individual, Medicaid and senior markets. Its managed care plans include preferred provider organizations (PPOs); health maintenance organizations (HMOs); point-of-service plans (POS) plans; traditional indemnity plans and other hybrid plans, including consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs); and hospital only and limited benefit products.

The Company serves its members as the Blue Cross licensee for California and as the Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS), licensee for Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri (excluding 30 counties in the Kansas City area), Nevada, New Hampshire, New York (as BCBS in 10 New York city metropolitan and surrounding counties, and as Blue Cross or BCBS in selected upstate counties only), Ohio, Virginia (excluding the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, District of Columbia), and Wisconsin. The Company does business as Anthem Blue Cross, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia, Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, or Empire Blue Cross (in its New York service areas). The Company also serves customers throughout the country as UniCare and in certain California, Arizona and Nevada markets.

The Company provides an array of managed care services to self-funded customers, including claims processing, underwriting, stop loss insurance, actuarial services, provider network access, medical cost management, disease management, wellness programs and other administrative services. The Company also provides an array of specialty products and services including life a! nd disability insurance benefits, dental, vision, behavioral health benefit services, radiology benefit management, analytics-driven personal health care guidance and long-term care insurance. The Company provides services to the Federal Government in connection with the Federal Employee Program (FEP), and various Medicare programs.

The Company�� Commercial and Consumer segments both offers a diversified mix of managed care products, including PPOs, HMOs, traditional indemnity benefits and POS plans, as well as a variety of hybrid benefit plans including CDHPs, hospital only and limited benefit products. Its Commercial segment includes Local Group (including UniCare), National Accounts and certain other ancillary business operations (dental, vision, life and disability and workers��compensation). Business units in the Commercial segment offer fully-insured products and provide an array of managed care services to self-funded customers, including claims processing, underwriting, stop loss insurance, actuarial services, provider network access, medical cost management, disease management, wellness programs and other administrative services.

The Company�� Consumer segment includes senior, state-sponsored and individual businesses. Its senior business includes services, such as Medicare Advantage (including private fee-for-service plans and special needs plans), Medicare Part D, and Medicare Supplement, while its State-Sponsored business includes its managed care alternatives for Medicaid and State Children�� Health Insurance Plan programs. Individual business includes individual customers under age 65 and their covered dependents. Its Other segment includes the Comprehensive Health Solutions business unit (CHS). Its Other segment also includes results from its Federal Government Solutions (FGS), business. FGS business includes FEP and National Government Services, Inc. (NGS), which acts as a Medicare contractor in several regions across the nation.

Preferred P! rovider O! rganization products offer the member an option to select any health care provider, with benefits reimbursed by the Company at a higher level when care is received from a participating network provider. Consumer-Driven Health Plans (CDHPs) provide consumers with increased financial responsibility, choice and control regarding how their health care dollars are spent. Indemnity products offer the member an option to select any health care provider for covered services. Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) products include managed care benefits, generally through a participating network of physicians, hospitals and other providers. Point-of-Service (POS) products blend the characteristics of HMO, PPO and indemnity plans.

The Company provides administrative services to large group employers that maintain self-funded health plans. These administrative services include underwriting, actuarial services, medical management, claims processing and other administrative services for self-funded employers. Self-funded health plans are also able to use its provider networks and to realize savings through its negotiated provider arrangements, while allowing employers the ability to design certain health benefit plans in accordance with their own requirements and objectives. The Company also underwrites stop loss insurance for self-funded plans.

BlueCard host members are generally members who reside in or travel to a state in which a WellPoint subsidiary is the Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield licensee and who are covered under an employer sponsored health plan serviced by a non-WellPoint controlled BCBS licensee, who is the home plan. The Company performs certain administrative functions for BlueCard host members, for which it receives administrative fees from the BlueCard members��home plans. Other administrative functions, including maintenance of enrollment information and customer service, are performed by the home plan. The Company offers a variety of senior plans, products and options, ! such as M! edicare supplement plans, Medicare Advantage (including private fee-for-service plans and special needs plans) and Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans (Medicare Part D). Medicare Advantage plans provide Medicare beneficiaries with a managed care alternative to traditional Medicare and often include a Medicare Part D benefit. In addition, its Medicare Advantage special needs plans provide Medicare beneficiaries who have chronic diseases and conditions with tailored benefits designed to meet their needs. Medicare Part D offers a prescription drug plan to Medicare and dual eligible (Medicare and Medicaid) beneficiaries. The Company offers these plans to customers through its health benefit subsidiaries throughout the country, including CareMore.

The Company offers a range of health insurance plans with a variety of options and deductibles for individuals under age 65 who are not covered by employer-sponsored coverage. Some of its products target certain demographic populations, such as uninsured younger individuals between the ages of 19 and 29, families and those transitioning between jobs or early retirees. The Company has contracts to serve members enrolled in Medicaid, State Children�� Health Insurance programs and other publicly funded health care programs for low income and/or high medical risk individuals. The Company provides services in California, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, New York, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. It markets and sells an integrated prescription drug product to both fully-insured and self-funded customers through its health benefit subsidiaries throughout the country. The product includes features, such as drug formularies, a pharmacy network and maintenance of a prescription drug database and mail order capabilities. The Company has delegated certain functions and administrative services related to its integrated prescription drug products to Express Scripts, under a 10 year contract. Express Scripts manages the network of ph! armacy pr! oviders, operates mail order pharmacies and processes prescription drug claims on its behalf, while it sells and support the product for clients, make formulary decisions and set drug benefit design strategy and provide front line member support.

The life products include term life and accidental death and dismemberment. The Company offers short-term and long-term disability programs, usually in conjunction with its health plans. The Company offers specialized behavioral health plans and benefits management. These plans cover mental health and substance abuse treatment services on both an inpatient and an outpatient basis. The Company offers outpatient diagnostic imaging management services to health plans. These services include utilization management for advanced diagnostic imaging procedures, network development and optimization, patient safety, claims adjudication and provider payment. The Company offers evidence based and analytics-driven personal health care guidance.

The Company�� dental plans include networks in certain states in which it operates. Many of the dental benefits are provided to customers enrolled in its health plans and are offered on both a fully-insured and self-funded basis. Its members also have access to additional dental providers through its participation in the National Dental GRID, a national dental network developed by and for BCBS plans. Additionally, the Company offers managed dental services to other health care plans to assist those other health care plans in providing dental benefits to their customers. Its vision plans include networks within the states where the Company operates. Many of the vision benefits are provided to customers enrolled in its health plans and are offered on both a fully-insured and self-funded basis.

The Company offers long-term care insurance products to its California members through a subsidiary. The long-term care products include tax-qualified and non-tax qualified versions of a skilled nursing home care! plan and! comprehensive policies covering skilled, intermediate and custodial long-term care and home health services. Through its subsidiary, NGS, the Company serves as a fiscal intermediary, carrier and Medicare administrative contractor providing administrative services for the Medicare program, which generally provides coverage for persons who are 65 or older and for persons who are disabled or with end-stage renal disease. Part A of the Medicare program provides coverage for services provided by hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and other health care facilities. Part B of the Medicare program provides coverage for services provided by physicians, physical and occupational therapists and other professional providers, as well as certain durable medical equipment and medical supplies.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  This is extremely important for Anthem (NYSE: ANTM  ) (formerly WellPoint) which was the big Obamacare enrollment winner last year and has banked its success on courting Medicaid expansion enrollees as well. California's strong Medi-Cal enrollment so far is encouraging, but I'd reserve judgment until Anthem's fourth-quarter earnings report.

Top 10 Managed Healthcare Companies To Buy For 2014: TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation(AMTD)

TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides securities brokerage services and technology-based financial services to retail investors, traders, and independent registered investment advisors (RIAs) in the United States. The company?s offerings include TD Ameritrade for self-directed retail investors; TD Ameritrade Institutional, which provides brokerage and custody services to independent RIAs and their clients; thinkorswim that offers a suite of trading platforms serving self-directed and institutional traders, and money managers; and Investools, which provides investor education products and services for stock, option, foreign exchange, futures, mutual fund, and fixed-income investors. Its offerings also include Amerivest, an online advisory service that develops portfolios of exchange-traded funds to enable long-term investors pursue their financial goals; and TD Ameritrade Corporate Services, which provides self-directed brokerage services to employees and executives of corporations. In addition, the company offers various products and services, such as common and preferred stocks; exchange-traded funds; a range of option trades, including complex, multi-leg option strategies; futures trades in various commodities, stock indices, and currencies; and foreign exchange products. Further, it provides mutual funds; treasury, corporate, government agency, and municipal bonds; mortgage-backed securities and certificates of deposit; new issue securities; margin lending; and cash management services. Additionally, the company offers trustee, custodial, and other trust-related services to retirement plans; and cash sweep and deposit account products through third-party relationships. It provides its products and services through the Internet, network of retail branches, mobile trading applications, and interactive voice response and registered representatives via telephone. The company was founded in 1971 and is headquart ered in Omaha, Nebraska.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Nicole Seghetti]

  On top of the fund's expense ratio, it costs you money to trade ETFs. Because a commission is charged every time you place a buy or sell trade, finding a commission-free ETF platform will save you lots of money. Schwab's (NYSE: SCHW  ) OneSource platform and TD Ameritrade (NYSE: AMTD  ) offer access to some of the broadest lists of commission-free ETFs, with both platforms boasting more than 100 ETFs on their respective lists. Brokerage customers of Vanguard and Fidelity can buy and sell dozens of ETFs without incurring transaction fees. Unlike the other platforms, E*TRADE (NASDAQ: ETFC  ) doesn't include products from some of the largest ETF providers, so its commission-free line up of funds comprises a lot of smaller ETFs.

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Susan Walsh/APFederal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen speaks during a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington on Wednesday. NEW YORK -- Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen signaled that rational exuberance is just fine. That, at least, is how some of America's largest money managers interpreted her comments on Wednesday suggesting interest rates will remain low through 2016. It reinforced their views that easy money means the U.S. stock market rally has further to run despite notching a series of record highs already this year. That could easily put the S&P 500 benchmark on track to surpass 2000 for the first time, and to do so well before the end of the year. Such a gain for 2014, after a 30 percent rise in 2013, would surprise those who worried that stocks might be getting overvalued and were due for a sizable pullback. One reason for increasing confidence is that the resilience of the market has been very strong in the face of various shocks this year. A combination of an improving economy, rising earnings, and the cheap borrowing costs, has made that possible. Stock investors have shaken off last year's budget uncertainty in Washington, a sharp drop in high-growth technology companies and biotech shares, the conflict in Ukraine, and more recently the apparent tearing apart of Iraq that resulted in a spike in oil prices. "What I have is a sweet combination of a self-sustaining, long lasting economic expansion joined with a long-lasting monetary accommodation," said Steven Einhorn, vice chairman of Leon Cooperman's hedge fund Omega Advisors, which has $10.5 billion in assets under management. "I don't think this bull market is over," he said, adding he estimates stocks could rise another 3 to 5 percent this year. That may sound modest but when added to an average S&P 500 dividend yield of 2 percent, it looks pretty attractive against the 2.62 percent yield of a 10-year Treasury note. Fund Flows Yellen on Wednesday said interest ra

• [By Matthew Smith]

  Although we were not surprised by the move yesterday we did not take an overly aggressive stance in positioning the portfolio to benefit from the Fed not tapering. We were long, but we did not initiate any trades solely for the purpose to benefit from the announcement. We are more interested in the long-term wealth building of portfolios right now and as such believe that readers should look to our recent winners that had pullbacks yesterday as buying opportunities. Specifically, we like Ameritrade (AMTD), Charles Schwab (SCHW) and MetLife (MET) which all saw pullbacks ranging from 2.5% to a bit over 5.5% in yesterday's session. We highlighted the discount brokers as a sector to watch right before the latest takeoff and our belief is that although rates remain unchanged the brokerage business will continue to perform strongly. The next big move up will be as rates rise, but even if one has to wait for this move it will be well worth it for one's portfolio.

Top 10 Managed Healthcare Companies To Buy For 2014: Protective Life Corporation(PL)

Protective Life Corporation and its subsidiaries engage in the production, distribution, and administration of insurance and investment products in the United States. Its Life Marketing segment markets universal life, variable universal life, level premium term insurance, and bank-owned life insurance products primarily through a network of independent insurance agents and brokers, stockbrokers, and independent marketing organizations. The company?s Acquisitions segment focuses on acquiring, converting, and servicing life insurance policies and annuity products sold to individuals, which are acquired from other companies. Its Annuities segment markets variable annuity products that offer the policyholder the opportunity to invest in various investment accounts; and fixed annuity products, such as modified guaranteed annuities, single premium deferred annuities, single premium immediate annuities, and equity indexed annuities primarily through broker-dealers, financial ins titutions, and independent agents and brokers. The company?s Stable Value Products segment offers guaranteed funding agreements to special purpose entities; fixed and floating rate funding agreements directly to the trustees of municipal bond proceeds, institutional investors, bank trust departments, and money market funds; and guaranteed investment contracts to qualified retirement savings plans. Its Asset Protection segment primarily markets extended service contracts, and credit life and disability insurance to protect consumers? investments in automobiles, watercraft, and recreational vehicles; and markets a guaranteed asset protection product primarily through a national network of approximately 3,750 automobile, marine, and recreational vehicle dealers. The company was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Goodloe]

  The CEO and president of Protective Life Corp (PL), John D. Johns, sold more than 200,000 shares of company stock on August 14 for nearly $14 million. The shares sold for $69.24, and the total transaction amount was $13,944,797.

• [By Maria Armental var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach]

  Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Wednesday’s session are Protective Life Corp.(PL), Tibco Software Inc.(TIBX) and Yingli Green Energy Holding Co.(YGE)

• [By Andrew Bary]

  Life insurance stocks have gotten a boost from Dai-ichi Life�� deal to purchase Protective Life (PL) for $70 a share, or $5.7 billion. Protective Life is up 18%, to $69.30 at 11:55 a.m., trading just below the deal value.� While the deal has been rumored for a few days, the actual price is about 16% higher than the $4.9 billion price that had been discussed in the media.

• [By David Sterman]

  My favorite insurers: AIG (NYSE: AIG) (which I discussed a few months ago), Protective Life (NYSE: PL) and Reinsurance Group of America (NYSE: RGA).

Top 10 Managed Healthcare Companies To Buy For 2014: iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund (IWM)

iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Russell 2000 Index (the Index). The Index measures the performances of the small capitalization sector of the United States equity market. The Index includes approximately 8% of the market capitalization of all publicly traded United States equity securities.

The Index is a subset of the Russell 3000 Index, and serves as the underlying index for the Russell 2000 Growth and Value Index series. The Index is a capitalization-weighted index of the approximately 2000 smallest companies in the Russell 3000 Index. The Fund uses a representative sampling strategy in seeking to track the Index. iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund's investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tom Aspray]

  The Powershares QQQ Trust (QQQ) is clearly the leader, up over 200%, which is over 20% better than the iShares Russell 2000 (IWM), which is up 178%. The small caps have done over 40% better than the large cap Spyder Trust (SPY) but this performance does not include dividends, which would narrow the gap considerably. The SPDR Dow Jones Industrials (DIA) has continued to lag as its price is up just 120% during the bull market.

Top 10 Managed Healthcare Companies To Buy For 2014: Rexahn Pharmaceuticals Inc (RNN)

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Rexahn) is a development-stage biopharmaceutical company. The Company focuses on the development of cures for cancer to patients worldwide. The Company�� pipeline features one drug candidate in Phase II clinical trials. The Company also has several other drug candidates in pre-clinical development. In addition, the Company has two renal cell carcinoma (CNS) candidates, Serdaxin, CNS Disorders drug for depression and neurodegenerative diseases and Zoraxel, which is a erectile dysfunction (ED) and sexual dysfunction drug that are in clinical stages and the Company is are exploring options for further development . The Company�� drug candidate, Archexin is an anticancer Akt inhibitor.

Archexin

Archexin is potent inhibitor of the Akt protein kinase (Akt) in cancer cells. Archexin has FDA orphan drug designations for five cancers (RCC, glioblastoma, and cancers of the ovary, stomach and pancreas). Multiple indications for other solid tumors can also be pursued. Archexin inhibit both activated and inactivated forms of Akt, and to reverse the drug resistance observed with the protein kinase inhibitors. Archexin is an antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) compound that is complementary to Akt mRNA, and selective for inhibiting mRNA expression and production of Akt protein. As of December 31, 2011, Archexin was in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of pancreatic cancer with enrollment completed in September, 2011.

Serdaxin

Serdaxin is an extended release formulation of clavulanic acid, which is an ingredient present in antibiotics approved by the FDA. The Company had been developing Serdaxin for the treatment of depression and neurodegenerative disorders. From January to September, 2011, the Company conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study compared two doses of Serdaxin, 0.5 milligram and 5 milligram, to placebo over an eight-week treatment period for major depressive disorder (MDD) patients. As of Dec! ember 31, 2011, the Company had not made a determination of Serdaxin�� future paths or resource allocations to further develop Serdaxin to treat MDD.

Zoraxel

Zoraxel is an orally administered, on-demand tablet to treat sexual dysfunction. Zoraxel is a dual enhancer of neurotransmitters in the brain that play a key role in sexual activity phases of motivation and arousal, erection and release, and may be the ED drug to affect all three of these phases of sexual activity. As of December 31, 2011, the Company was evaluating how to proceed with the Phase IIb study of Zoraxel.

The Company�� Pre-clinical Pipeline Drug Candidates includes RX-1792, which is a small molecule anticancer EGFR inhibitor; RX-5902, which is a small molecule anticancer ribonucleic acid (RNA) helicase regulator; RX-3117, which is a Small molecule anticancer deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis Inhibitor; RX-8243, which is a small molecule anticancer aurora kinase inhibitor; RX-0201-Nano, which is a nanoliposomal anticancer Akt inhibitor; RX-0047-Nano, which is an nanoliposomal anticancer HIF-1 alpha inhibitor and RX-21101, which is a nano-polymer Anticancer.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  If you were lucky enough to step into Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSEMKT:RNN) when your truly suggested it was a budding buy back on December 23rd, then congratulations - you're now up a little more than 60% (assuming you bought into RNN after the break above a key resistance line on the 27th). Now get out. Instead, use your profits from the Rexahn to take on a stake in GTx, Inc. (NASDAQ:GTXI). No, GTXI may not look like much at first, but when you take a step back and look at a chart of GTx, Inc. through a longer-term lens, the upside potential becomes clear.

Top 10 Managed Healthcare Companies To Buy For 2014: EMC Insurance Group Inc. (EMCI)

EMC Insurance Group Inc., an insurance holding company, engages in property and casualty insurance, and reinsurance activities. It operates in two segments, Property and Casualty Insurance, and Reinsurance. The Property and Casualty Insurance segment writes commercial and personal lines of insurance with a focus on medium-sized commercial accounts. Its commercial lines of insurance products comprise automobile, property, workers� compensation, and liability, as well as other products that provide protection against burglary and theft loss, aircraft, marine, and other types of losses; and personal lines of insurance products include automobile, property, and liability. The Reinsurance segment provides reinsurance for other insurers and reinsurers. The company serves small to medium-sized businesses, institutions, and individual consumers. EMC Insurance Group Inc. sells its products through independent insurance agents. The company was founded in 1974 and is headquartered i n Des Moines, Iowa. EMC Insurance Group Inc. is a subsidiary of Employers Mutual Casualty Company.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Caroline Bennett]

  EMC Insurance (NASDAQ: EMCI  ) this week declared plans to keep its quarterly dividend payout steady at $0.21 per share of common stock.

Top 10 Managed Healthcare Companies To Buy For 2014: Medbox Inc (MDBX.PK)

Medbox Inc. (Medbox) offers a machine that dispenses medication to individuals based on biometric identification (fingerprint sample). The machine allows pharmacies, hospitals, doctors' offices, and alternative medicine clinics to manage employee possession of sensitive drugs. The system also allows these clinics to demonstrate that the user visiting the machine is a registered patient and that the patient has a valid and unexpired authorization from a physician to possess and use the medicine dispensed. The Company has national and international presence with offices in Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, London and Tokyo.

Medbox, through its subsidiaries, offers consulting services to the alternative medicine industry, as well as to the mini self-storage market. The Company provides consulting services primarily to individuals and groups seeking to establish new clinics and facilities, often in jurisdictions that have recently passed legislation concerning th e availability of alternative medicines, as well as existing jurisdictions, nationwide.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Alan Brochstein]

  Taking into account all of the data I have shared, I want to introduce my take on the most important names to follow. My initial list takes into account not only the market cap, but also business model and interest level. These are the stocks that I think merit the most attention (in alphabetical order):

  CannaVest (CANV.OB)GW Pharma (GWPH)MedBox (MDBX.PK)Medical Marijuana, Inc. (MJNA.PK)

  CANV doesn't really trade, as it is held closely by insiders (99.7%, including MJNA). I have a few concerns, including the valuation and some near-term financial challenges typical of a start-up with just one client looking to expand its customer base, but I like the focus and the fact that it is an SEC filer with a relatively clean history (i.e. none of the baggage of some of these other companies). I have spoken to its outsourced CFO and am impressed by his background (has been CFO or held key financial roles at publicly-traded healthcare companies). CANV is the partner to MJNA that is responsible for manufacturing the CBD (Cannibidiol, the cannabinoid in marijuana that is increasingly viewed as offering substantial medical benefits). I am very concerned about the near-term financials, but this is a pure-play with probably a two-year lead over other companies. I don't see a moat in terms of intellectual property or brands, but they have a good lead in terms of sourcing of supply and penetration into potential customers. Quite simply, they don't appear to have competition at present. The company, then, is a call option on CBD demand taking off. It appears that it could be a supplier to even Big Pharma should medical marijuana research move into the mainstream.