Quoted: California health insurance providers were raking in more than $4.3 billion in profits in the last year. In addition, HMOs spent $6 billion on administrative costs according to a report by the California Medical Association.

There were two themes I heard repeatedly at the America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) conference in San Francisco last week:

1. Consumer-directed healthcare (CDH) is more than shifting health costs onto members; it is a way to put consumers in charge of their healthcare and provide them with the tools to make educated decisions.

2. Creating personal health record (PHR) portals is not enough. Consumers have not shown much interest in PHRs because the portals are used simply as a place to dump information rather than interactive tools for members to become more informed.

Quoted: That's really where health plans need to go—to go where the consumer goes. Millions of Americans don't stay up-to-date with their personal financial records like balancing checkbooks...You must give them a compelling reason.

The solution is to offer them valuable information that interests a member's specific needs and find out how and by what means to best reach that individual. Simply transferring costs on members and uploading a PHR onto a Web site doesn't cut it.

Quoted: Health care providers can use American Wells new online platform to conduct real-time online or phone consultations with patients. The online service allows physicians to access patient information, prescribe medications and suggest follow-up care.

Quoted: CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield will provide a total of $1.5 million for electronic health record projects at Community Health Integrated Partnership and LifeBridge Health. Officials say these efforts could lead to a statewide health information exchange.

Quoted: Learn about IBM’s point of view on the future of healthcare and why U.S. health plans should reassess what their future role in the healthcare industry will be; what competencies are needed to support this role; and how they will create value for customers and outperform competitors.

BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina is partnering with a care and disease management services provider to offer its members Web-based personal health records that will include clinical and lab information, and claims data.

Quoted: “Our agreement with BlueCross allows us to advance our platform to fully support our health plan customers’ IT requirements for total population management, which is being demanded by their major employer accounts,” said Tom Hagan, ParadigmHealth executive vice president and chief operating officer.

Note: Aetna is adding PHR interaction with electronic medical records and also search capabilities. Kaiser Permanente members in seven of eight regions can activate their PHRs through kp.org to access lab results, immunizations, allergies and past office visit summaries, refill prescriptions, schedule appointments online and securely e-mail their doctors.

Quoted: Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield in Pennsylvania has introduced free personal health records software for its members.

The PHR includes tracking technology that enables users to keep records on certain health status measures, such as blood glucose, blood pressure, cholesterol level and weight. Other recordkeeping functions include medication tracking, immunizations, physician information, treatment history and allergies. Members also can enter additional information in their PHR, which is printable to share with clinicians.

Highmark further will offer PHR users personalized plans for improving their health. The PHR includes links to educational materials.

Quoted: Senate President Therese Murray said the state could save hundreds of millions of dollars by adopting several proposals being developed in the Senate. Perhaps the most controversial is to mandate that doctors and hospitals switch to electronic medical records within five years.

A pilot effort to implement electronic records in three communities is underway with a $50 million grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts. Some estimate the cost of a statewide effort at $500 million.