BUSINESS BRIEFS
ING Direct opens cafe in Waikiki
Advertiser staff
ING Direct has opened a cafe at 1958 Kalakaua Ave. where people can access the Internet for free, open an account as well as have pastries and a cup of coffee.
The 9,500-square-foot space will provide ING Direct, an online bank with no branches, with a place where associates can discuss financial products with clients. It also features a conference room where the company can hold financial seminars.
ING said it has 25,000 customers in Hawai'i. The Honolulu ING Direct Cafe will be the largest of such cafes and joins others located in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, St. Cloud, Minn., and Wilmington, Del.
HEI FILES FOR SHELF REGISTRATIONS
Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. last week filed a shelf registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, allowing it to possibly sell stock or debt securities in one or more offerings in the future.
In general, shelf registrations provide companies with the flexibility to issue more common stock, preferred stock, debt securities and other financial instruments from time to time. Terms of the issues would be determined when the offering is made.
HEI said the sales, if undertaken, could be used to retire or repurchase existing debt, make investments or loans to HEI subsidiaries, finance strategic investments or make acquisitions, and for working capital or other general corporate purposes.
AETNA-COSTCO PLAN COVERS MEDICARE
Medicare beneficiaries in Hawai'i and 16 other states will be able to purchase the Aetna Medicare RX-Costco Plus Plan under an alliance announced by Aetna and Costco last week.
The companies said plan premiums range from $50 to $70 a month with no deductible, and consumers will be able to fill their prescriptions at Costco. Some generic drugs offered under the program will have no copay fees, while other generics will have a maximum copay of $5. If filled at other network pharmacies, the generics will cost up to $10.
WORK TO BEGIN ON SENIOR FACILITY
MW Group Ltd. and Sound Building Systems Hawaii Inc. will break ground for a $24 million assisted living community in Mililani Mauka this week.
The Plaza at Mililani, a 94,000-square-foot rental facility, is scheduled to open in the fall of 2009 and will offer a variety of amenities and levels of care. The 128 units will offer a mix of semi-private and private suites and feature a 24-hour nurse call monitoring system.
The project is being modeled after its sister facility, the Plaza at Punchbowl. The Plaza at Mililani is targeting seniors who are not ready for a nursing home but can no longer live at home independently. It also will feature personal-care services on an as-needed basis.
KAISER MEDICAID PLAN AMONG BEST
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Hawai'i's Medicaid plan has been named one of the top five such plans in the nation by U.S. News Media Group and The National Committee for Quality Assurance.
The ranking is part of a listing of top health plans being published by U.S. News and World Report. Other categories in which health plans were ranked include top 10 commercial plans and top five Medicare plans.
Kaiser Foundation's Hawai'i Medicare program ranked as the 14th best nationally, while its HMO was 139th. The Hawaii Medical Service Association's HMO, Health Plan Hawaii, was listed at No. 160 in the ranking.
