What's in a name? UnitedHealthcare by any other name would smell as...confusing.

As I've griped about many times before, it's confusing as hell trying to keep track of a bunch of insurance carriers which have similar names. For instance, in Kansas, they have both Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City...which are apparently considered separate corporations.

Picking on  Kansas again, one of the carriers offering ACA exchange plans is called Sunflower State Health Plan...but if you look it up, you'll see that "Sunflower Health" is actually owned by Centene Corporation. Which also owns "Ambetter Health." Oh, and they also own "Celtic Insurance" as well.

In fact, Centene Corporation has no fewer than 28 other subsidiaries. Now, in some cases these may not be health insurance carriers, and in others they may simply be "product branding" instead of actual corporate subsidiaries, but it's still confusing as hell.

However, even this pales in comparison to UnitedHealthcare.

Earlier today, while updating the rate filings for South Carolina, I noted that the SERFF database lists four different carriers offering healthcare policies on the Palmetto State's small group market:

• UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company
• UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of the River Valley
• UnitedHealthcare of South Carolina Inc.
• UnitedHealthcare Life Insurance Company (this one only offers limited benefit plans)

So, I did a quick Google search, and behold:

SUBSIDIARIES OF UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INCORPORATED

• United Healthcare Services, Inc.
• UnitedHealthcare, Inc.
• United HealthCare of Alabama, Inc.
• United HealthCare of Arizona, Inc.
• Arizona Physicians IPA, Inc.
• United HealthCare of Arkansas, Inc.
• United HealthCare of Colorado, Inc.
• United HealthCare of Florida, Inc.
• United HealthCare of Georgia, Inc.
• UnitedHealthcare of Illinois, Inc.
• United HealthCare of Louisiana, Inc.
• UnitedHealthcare of the Mid-Atlantic, Inc.
• United HealthCare of the Midlands, Inc.
• United HealthCare of the Midwest, Inc.
• United HealthCare of Mississippi, Inc.
• United HealthCare of Nevada, Inc.
• UnitedHealthcare of New Jersey, Inc.
• UnitedHealthcare of New York, Inc.
• UnitedHealthcare of North Carolina, Inc.
• United HealthCare of Tennessee, Inc.
• United HealthCare of Texas, Inc.
• United HealthCare of Utah
• UnitedHealthcare of Wisconsin, Inc.
• Midwest Security Holding, Inc.
• Midwest Security Administrators, Inc.
• Midwest Security Life Insurance Company
• Midwest Security Care, Inc.
• Unified Limited
• UnitedHealthcare of New England, Inc.
• United HealthCare of Ohio, Inc.
• United HealthCare of Oregon, Inc.
• United HealthCare Plans of Puerto Rico, Inc.
• UnitedHealth Advantage LLC
• UnitedHealth Networks, Inc.
• UnitedHealth Capital, LLC
• Commonwealth Physicians Services Corporation
• United HealthCare of Washington, Inc.
• UnitedHealth Financial Services, Inc.
• Exante Bank, Inc.
• United HealthCare of Kentucky, Ltd.
• Specialized Care Services, Inc.
• Optum Group, LLC
• Coordinated Vision Care, Inc.
• Coordinated Vision Care of New York, IPA, Inc.
• Unimerica Insurance Company
• United Resource Networks, Inc.
• Specialty Resource Services, Inc.
• National Benefit Resources, Inc.
• Stop-Loss Life Reinsurance Company
• Spectera, Inc.
• Spectera Vision Services of California, Inc.
• Spectera Vision Services of Florida, Inc.
• Spectera Insurance Company
• Spectera Eyecare of North Carolina, Inc.
• Spectera Insurance Company, Inc.
• Spectera Vision, Inc.
• Group Vision Associates, Inc.
• ACN Group, Inc.
• Managed Physical Network, Inc.
• ACN Group IPA of New York, Inc.
• ACN Group of California, Inc.
• Preferred Chiropractors of California
• Sierra Chiropractic, Inc.
• Dental Benefit Providers, Inc.
• Dental Benefit Providers of California, Inc.
• Dental Benefit Providers of Illinois, Inc.
• Dental Benefit Providers of New Jersey, Inc.
• Dental Insurance Company of America
• DBP-KAI, Inc.
• Dental Benefit Providers of Maryland, Inc.
• United Behavioral Health
• U.S. Behavioral Health Plan, California
• Behavioral Health Administrators
• United Behavioral Health of New York, I.P.A., Inc.
• Working Solutions, Inc.
• Unimerica, Inc.
• United HealthCare Insurance Company
• Clarite, LLC
• United HealthCare Insurance Company of Illinois
• United HealthCare Insurance Company of New York
• United HealthCare Insurance Company of Ohio
• United HealthCare Life Insurance Company of New York
• United HealthCare Products, LLC
• United HealthCare Service LLC
• United HealthCare Alliance LLC
• Uniprise, Inc.
• United HealthCare (Ireland) Limited
• Charter Oak HealthCare Services, Inc.
• Ovations, Inc.
• EverCare of New York, IPA, Inc.
• Optage, LLC
• Lifemark Corporation
• Arizona Health Concepts, Inc.
• Evercare at Home, Inc.
• Evercare of Arizona, Inc.
• Evercare Connections, Inc.
• Collaborative Solutions, Inc.
• Lifemark Government Services, LLC
• Lifemark New York, Inc.
• Lifemark at Home NY, Inc.
• MCS HP New York, LLC
• Evercare of Texas, L.L.C.
• Lifemark Healthplans of Delaware, Inc.
• AmeriChoice Corporation
• AmeriChoice Health Services, Inc.
• AmeriChoice Alliance, Inc.
• AmeriChoice of New Jersey, Inc.
• AmeriChoice of New York, Inc.
• AmeriChoice of Pennsylvania, Inc.
• Information Network Corporation
• Revolution Health Systems, Inc.
• Ingenix, Inc.
• Aperture Credentialing Holdings, Inc.
• Aperture Credentialing, Inc.
• Ingenix Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.
• Ingenix International (Canada), Inc.
• Ingenix Services, Inc.
• Ingenix Pharmaceutical Services (Deutschland) GmbH
• Ingenix International (Hong Kong) Limited
• Ingenix Pharmaceutical Services d.o.o.
• Ingenix Pharmaceutical Services Holdings, Inc.
• ClinPharm International Limited
• Ingenix Pharmaceutical Services (UK) Limited
• Ingenix Pharmaceutical Services (Spain) SL
• Ingenix Pharmaceutical Services (Australia) Pty Ltd
• Ingenix International (Italy) S.r.l.
• Ingenix Pharmaceutical Services (France) SARL
• CT Management, Inc.
• ICT (UK) Limited
• Ingenix International (Netherlands) BV
• Ingenix Pharmaceutical Services (Sweden) AB
• Ingenix Pharmaceutical Services de Argentina S.R.L.
• Ingenix Pharmaceutical Services, LLC
• Ingenix International (Czech Republic), s.r.o.
• Worldwide Clinical Trials, SL
• Ingenix International (Hungary) Ltd.
• Ingenix Pharmaceutical Services (RSA) Proprietary Limited
• Ingenix International (Finland) Oy
• Ingenix International (UK) Limited
• Reden & Anders, Ltd.
• Subrogation Advantage, Ltd.
• GeoAccess, Inc.
• Ingenix Publishing, Inc.
• Ingenix Health Intelligence, LLC
• UnitedHealthcare International Asia, LLC
• UnitedHealthcare International Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.
• UnitedHealthcare Asia Limited
• Philam Care Health Systems, Inc.
• AIG United HealthCare LLC
• AIA United HealthCare Limited
• H&W Indemnity, Ltd.
• UHC International Holdings, Inc.
• UHC International Services, Inc.
• UnitedHealthcare International, Inc.
• United Healthcare International Mauritius Limited
• United Healthcare India (Private) Limited
• Aspire Global Support Services Private Limited
• UnitedHealth Group Finance Company, Inc.
• UnitedHealth Group International, LLC

Even more confusingly, many of these are subsidiaries of one of the other subsidiaries listed above.

Again, many of the companies above aren't actually insurance carriers, and some of those which are only sell dental coverage and so forth, but that still leaves dozens upon dozens of them. That's 159 different names listed above, for those keeping track.