WellPoint, the largest U.S. insurer by enrollment, is buying a controlling stake in a private health-insurance exchange, for an undisclosed sum. Bloom Health, based in Minneapolis, offers a menu of health plans to about 20,000 workers at almost 50 companies to compete with similar marketplaces that will be run by state governments as part of President Barack Obama’s health-care overhaul. With the deal, WellPoint is positioning itself for the advent of state-run insurance exchanges, set to open in 2014. The marketplaces are central to Obama’s goal of expanding coverage to as much as 95 percent of Americans.
Capital One plans to add another 1,800 employees this year, on top of the 1,800 it’s already hired so far in 2011. The Virginia-based lender is seeking to fill openings for bankers, financial analysts, and call-center employees. Capital One is facing scrutiny from bank regulators over its plans to buy ING’s online banking unit, a move that would make it the fifth-biggest U.S. bank by domestic deposits. Consumer rights groups say the deal would create another “too-big-to-fail” financial institution.
