OK, I admit that I missed the original headline.  I was busy in FL at the Users' Conference.  But here it is:

UnitedHealthcare Buys Some Health Net subsidiaries

Bottom line is that UHC picks up Healthnet's business in the northeast.  So, New Jerseyites and New Yorkers, remember that awesome UHC-Oxford merger?  How'd that work out for you?

Susanne Madden, who actually clued me into this, said the following:

If you par with UHC, expect to see HealthNet business roll under the same policies and reimbursement as UHC (unless the fee are less and the policies more restrictive), increasing the amount of your business done with UHC (e.g. if you have 20% UHC and 20% HealthNet, UHC will now own 40% of your business); and if you par with HealthNet but not UHC, you might likely have to (though according to them, that's only 5% of HealthNet's providers).

Fortunately, UHC assures everyone that all will go just fine.  Just like all their other mergers.

How this isn't restraining trade in the form of delivering healthcare in the north east is beyond me.  Boy, two docs get together and compare prices and they can go to jail.  These folks can own a 20-50+% of dozens of practices in northern NJ and no one cares.