Health care insurers and health care. Medical search. Frequent questions

These rate requests are all the more striking after a 39 percent rise sought by Anthem Blue Cross in 2010 helped give impetus to the law, known as the Affordable Care Act, which was passed the same year and will not be fully in effect until 2014. (healthcare-now.org)
It's a huge loophole in the Affordable Care Act," he said. (healthcare-now.org)
Centene has been notably bullish on the Affordable Care Act marketplaces. (vox.com)
Counihan appears to be taking a different route: joining a health plan that is helping strengthen the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, and betting that Centene can succeed in tumultuous times. (vox.com)
The rocky rollout of HealthCare.gov , the website for people to sign up for health insurance under President Obama's Affordable Care Act, has garnered a lot of attention from the media as well as technology analysts. (nextgov.com)
Outraged by industry efforts to cover only low-cost, "healthy" consumers, lawmakers banned discrimination against pre-existing conditions in the Affordable Care Act (ACA - Obamacare). (hepb.org)
Note: Federal laws that prohibit discrimination against pre-existing conditions apply only to Affordable Care Act health plans sold on the marketplace . (hepb.org)
With just two weeks until the insurance exchange marketplace is set to open under the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies are fleeing some state's individual marketplaces. (foxbusiness.com)
President Donald Trump announced a new plan to help seniors get a coronavirus vaccine, when available, in senior care facilities while Democratic nominee for president Joe Biden warned voters that the Trump administration was trying to take away the Affordable Care Act. (necn.com)
Sebelius claims the grants, given under the Affordable Care Act, will be used to publicize proposed premium increases and target insurers deemed to be raising rates unreasonably. (heartland.org)
The Affordable Care Act puts in place critical market reforms to improve quality and reduce the cost of health care for employers and individuals," Sebelius said in the grant announcement. (heartland.org)
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act became law on March 23, 2010. (mckinsey.com)
The Affordable Care Act requires that health plans give providers the option of being paid electronically to improve efficiency and save money. (medscape.com)

The data shows that Medicare and, by extension, Obamacare, are far worse for patients than private health insurance. (blogspot.com)
When 44% of the public is not sure whether ObamaCare is still the law-the fact that insurers are deciding not to participate could tell you they [may believe] ObamaCare won't be around for long," says Cannon. (foxbusiness.com)
What we have seen in states that have enacted laws like ObamaCare, with community rating and price controls where you can't charge sick people more than you can charge healthy people, is an exodus of insurers from the marketplace. (foxbusiness.com)
As further testimony to the current Administration's commitment to force those dastardly commercial health insurers out from under their rocks into the cleansing light of righteous Obamacare, the "health care dot gov" web site has posted all the nation's commercial insurers' pricing and application rejection rates. (blogspot.com)
Insurer participation in Obamacare will continue its steep decline next year, according to an expert who tracks the issue. (freebeacon.com)
Participation by insurers in the Obamacare exchanges has already declined by 27 percent since the law took effect. (freebeacon.com)
In 2013, just before Obamacare took effect, 395 insurers offered individual market coverage. (freebeacon.com)
Haislmaier projects that next year there will be roughly 45 fewer insurers participating in the Obamacare exchanges, a 15 percent decline from the previous year. (freebeacon.com)
On Monday, Aetna announced that it would exit 11 of the 15 states where it offers health care coverage on the Obamacare exchanges, citing $430 million in losses since January 2014. (freebeacon.com)
Aetna, of the larger insurers, has probably taken the most disciplined approach to [Obamacare] meaning that they weren't going to rush into it, they weren't going to have rose colored glasses, they were going to take a hard look," Haislmaier said. (freebeacon.com)
Kevin Counihan, the official in charge of Healthcare.gov, said in a statement that the future of the Obamacare marketplace is strong despite Aetna's exit. (freebeacon.com)
The late-innings policy play comes just days ahead of Election Day as President Donald Trump has been hammered on health care by Democratic challenger Joe Biden for the administration's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and its unrelenting efforts to overturn "Obamacare," the 2010 law providing coverage to more than 20 million people. (necn.com)
Flawed provider directories are a longstanding problem industrywide, and the proliferation of narrow networks on the Obamacare insurance exchanges and in employer health plans has sparked numerous consumer complaints. (californiahealthline.org)
Until ObamaCare, health insurers were notorious for cancelling coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. (counterpunch.org)

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The House's approval of a measure to reform and revamp the nation's health care system was praised Monday by consumer groups, given mixed reviews by doctors and got a thumbs down from insurers. (cnn.com)
Some of the nation's leading physician groups called the new health care legislation a step in the right direction, but said that it still does not address all of their concerns. (cnn.com)
Doctors On Demand is expanding the nation's primary care services by launching a virtual care telehealth platform for health insurers and employers. (darkdaily.com)
UnitedHealthcare, the nation's largest health insurer, listed 9,135 primary-care doctors on the provider list used during the year who were absent from year-end list - a discrepancy of 45 percent. (californiahealthline.org)

Adding optional race and ethnicity questions on enrollment forms for employer-based health insurance requires an extra layer of communication between insurers and employers. (modernhealthcare.com)
The CT Insurance Department (CID) will hold a public hearing in August to hear from the insurers, advocates, and individuals and small employers who buy their own health coverage. (universalhealthct.org)
Doctor On Demand, a San Francisco-based virtual care provider, is targeting insurers and employers with its Synapse telehealth platform , which integrates into existing health plan networks and enables virtual primary care, according to a news release . (darkdaily.com)
Employers and private insurers paid 224% on average of what Medicare would have paid for both inpatient and outpatient services in 2020. (dotmed.com)
Employers and private insurers paid 224% on average of what Medicare would have paid for both inpatient and outpatient services in 2020, according to a new RAND Corporation study, "Prices Paid to Hospitals by Private Health Plans: Findings from Round 4 of an Employer-Led Transparency Initiative. (dotmed.com)
Employers can use this report to become better-informed purchasers of health benefits. (dotmed.com)
This work also highlights the levels and variation in hospital prices paid by employers and private insurers, and thus may help policymakers who may be looking for strategies to curb healthcare spending. (dotmed.com)
Plus, with a recession potentially on the horizon in the U.S., resulting job losses could cut into commercial enrollment for insurers who generate revenue from selling health coverage to employers of all sizes. (healthcaredive.com)
Employers and insurers benefit from DSMES through improved employee productivity and reduced health care costs. (cdc.gov)
State health departments can work with their diabetes councils or partner networks to inform and educate employers and insurers on the benefits of DSMES services and encourage coverage. (cdc.gov)
Employers are eager to hear that insurers have strategies to address the rising costs of diabetes. (cdc.gov)
Encourage employers to talk with their insurance carriers about adding DSMES services as part of the employee health benefits package. (cdc.gov)
Obviously this can have a direct effect on employers' and insurers' health care expenses. (cdc.gov)
Finally, this study estimated that health care costs for employees providing eldercare were 8% higher than for employees who did not, amounting to an estimated excess of $13.4 billion per year for all U.S. employers. (cdc.gov)

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Seven major private health insurers' offers to waive copays and deductibles for coronavirus care are set to end by June 1, but all health care insurers should extend the fee waivers until the end of the pandemic, Public Citizen said today. (citizen.org)
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, most major insurers announced they would waive some or all fees for coronavirus treatment. (citizen.org)
In a report earlier this month, Public Citizen found that while 23 of the 25 insurers said they would waive some or all fees for coronavirus treatment, most had set end dates for such waivers - dates long before the pandemic reasonably can be expected to end. (citizen.org)
BACKGROUND: Some people with disabilities are likely at increased risk of health impacts from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). (cdc.gov)

It acquired sleep monitor company Beddit in May of 2017 and personal health data platform, Gliimpse, in 2016. (smithhanley.com)
Recently, the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) published data showing that visits to primary care physicians declined 18% from 2012 to 2016 among adults under 65 who had employer-sponsored insurance. (darkdaily.com)
The graphic above, taken from research conducted by the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI), shows that while virtual primary care has been expanding, conventional visits to primary care physicians fell 18% from 2012 to 2016 among adults under 65 who had employer-sponsored insurance. (darkdaily.com)
Despite these withdrawals, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced that the average number of issuers per state is increasing slightly in 2016 and that about 9 out of 10 returning Healthcare.gov customers will have 3 or more insurers from which to choose in 2016. (kff.org)
This data note highlights areas where insurer participation is changing in 2016, and where this may have an appreciable effect on market competition. (kff.org)
We also found that the number of counties with 5 or more insurers decreased in 2016. (kff.org)
Although most states have several insurers offering coverage in their Marketplaces, and the average number of insurers participating in each state is expected to increase slightly in 2016, there is substantial variation within states. (kff.org)
For example, although there are 14 insurers (parent companies) offering coverage in Texas' Marketplace in 2016 (a similar number as last year), 78% of Texas counties will have just one or two insurers from which enrollees can choose (up from 62% of Texas counties in 2015). (kff.org)
In 2016, there are a total of 2,603 counties in states using Healthcare.gov, and in the majority (60%) of these counties, residents will have a choice of plans offered by 3 or more insurers. (kff.org)
In fact, most of the counties have consistently had 3 or more insurers in 2015 and 2016. (kff.org)

Frustrated physicians are turning to state and federal legislators, hoping elected representatives will force insurers to curtail the crushing burden of faxes and phone calls needed to get permission to do what physicians think is right. (motherjones.com)

The American Medical Association (AMA), the largest physician group, applauded new measures to increase payments for primary care physicians caring for Medicaid patients and give bonus payments to physicians who work in underserved areas. (cnn.com)
Some accrediting bodies are also adding enhanced data collection standards to their requirements for insurers, such as carriers of Medicaid, exchange and employer plans in some states. (modernhealthcare.com)
The health insurer had traditionally focused on helping states manage their Medicaid programs but, with Obamacare's launch, began to branch out into the individual market. (vox.com)
Timothy Costa , principal in the Firm's federal government relations practice, was quoted in The Street article, " Trump's Quick Health Care Moves Have Serious Ramifications for Hospitals, Medicaid-Heavy Insurers . (bipc.com)
2. On July 13, 2010, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) issued the final regulation for meaningful use of electronic health records. (mckinsey.com)
States are forbidden from kicking Medicaid enrollees off the program during the public health emergency. (healthcaredive.com)
Many insurers contract with states to cover their Medicaid enrollees and many insurers have seen their Medicaid rolls increase throughout the pandemic. (healthcaredive.com)
Elevance now insurers about 11 million Medicaid members, a 49% increase since the first quarter of 2020. (healthcaredive.com)
However, analysts expect enrollment figures will fall for insurers once the public health emergency ends and states can resume removing ineligible Medicaid members. (healthcaredive.com)
In 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued guidance that prohibited insurers and their payment processing vendors from 'engaging in unfair business practices that do not support an efficient healthcare system,' according to a recent Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) position paper . (medscape.com)
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) began allowing this change for both public and private insurers on Oct. 1, KFF Health News reported. (msdmanuals.com)
Most of the patients who will be helped by this are low-income, disabled and older people on Medicaid and Medicare, KFF Health News reported. (msdmanuals.com)

America's Health Insurance Plans, the group representing nearly 1,300 member companies, said the legislation doesn't go far enough in addressing escalating health care costs and improving the quality of care. (cnn.com)
But America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the top insurance lobbying group, said there is a vital reason for that lag time. (fiercehealthcare.com)

Kevin Counihan worked in the Obama administration as the chief executive of Healthcare.gov , overseeing the federal insurance marketplace that covers 36 states, from August 2014 through January 2017. (vox.com)
Healthcare investments soared in 2017, and biotechnology was by far the most invested-in group at $13.8 billion as reported by AngelMD . (smithhanley.com)
Last week, the Kaiser Family Foundation published an analysis of plans on Healthcare.gov that found that 19 percent of all in-network claims were denied in 2017 on the ACA Marketplace. (canceradvocacy.org)
The U.S. Court of Federal Claims handed issuers major wins in four cost-sharing reduction (CSR) cases, including a class action suit brought by Wisconsin's Common Ground Health Cooperative in which Judge Margaret Sweeney ruled that the government is responsible for reimbursing plans unpaid CSRs in 2017 as well as in 2018, despite the silver-loading workaround. (balloon-juice.com)
As of 2017, the financial impact of diabetes was estimated at $327 billion, including direct financial costs and indirect effects on health resources and productivity. (cdc.gov)
The number of those certified as needing long-term care/support is increasing year by year, and has reached 556 in 2017. (who.int)
The rate of certification of needing long-term care/support is 15.1% in 2017, which is increased from 13.8% in 2013. (who.int)

In California, Aetna is proposing rate increases of as much as 22 percent, Anthem Blue Cross 26 percent and Blue Shield of California 20 percent for some of those policy holders, according to the insurers' filings with the state for 2013. (healthcare-now.org)
These offers will expire for patients covered under United Health, Anthem, Health Care Service Corporation, Blue Shield of California, Anthem Blue Cross of California, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee. (citizen.org)
For Anthem Blue Cross, the discrepancy was 8,165 primary-care physicians, or 36 percent, and for Blue Shield of California it was 4,371 primary-care doctors, or 22 percent. (californiahealthline.org)
In 2015, California's managed care agency fined Anthem $250,000 and Blue Shield of California $350,000 for overstating the breadth of their doctor networks. (californiahealthline.org)

Health insurance companies across the country are seeking and winning double-digit increases in premiums for some customers, even though one of the biggest objectives of the Obama administration's health care law was to stem the rapid rise in insurance costs for consumers. (healthcare-now.org)
Federal regulators contend that premiums would be higher still without the law, which also sets limits on profits and administrative costs and provides for rebates if insurers exceed those limits. (healthcare-now.org)
The California insurers say they have no choice but to raise premiums if their underlying medical costs have increased. (healthcare-now.org)
Insurers have already paid $1.1 billion in rebates, and rate review programs have helped save consumers an additional $1 billion in lower premiums," he said. (healthcare-now.org)
Private health insurers must tell policy holders certain things, including what their policy covers, out-of-pocket costs that apply to them, and changes to their cover or premiums. (health.gov.au)
And when it comes to health care, among his favorite talking points are that health insurers are out to deny claims ("More and more Americans pay their premiums, only to discover that their insurance company has dropped their coverage when they get sick, or won't pay the full cost of care. (blogspot.com)
Timothy Costa, a principal in Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney's government relations practice, said White House officials and lawmakers aren't likely to take dramatic action immediately because insurers are well into the process of designing proposed policies and premiums for 2018, which must be approved by state insurance officials this spring. (bipc.com)
CID has the authority to approve insurers' requested premiums, increase them or decrease them. (universalhealthct.org)
the site will generate (when the Disease Management Care Blog took it for a test drive) several pages of options with varying deductibles, co-pays and premiums. (blogspot.com)
If successful, the result of these efforts to hold down premiums will cause health insurers to leave the market, resulting in less competition and higher prices. (heartland.org)
Congress has laid down limits on health insurance premiums, and now the states will carry out their bidding," LaPlante said. (heartland.org)
The federal government owes the insurance carriers the CSR reimbursement payments for 2018 regardless of whether they found another way to cover their CSR expenses… udge Sweeney just ordered that Community Health Choices is entitled to be reimbursed for all of the CSR funds they paid out in 2018 even though they jacked up their premiums to cover that amount. (balloon-juice.com)
With fewer than 3 insurers, these counties may not benefit from insurer market competition to hold down premiums or offer plans with better value. (kff.org)
NMES-1 produced information on a broad range of issues such as the number and characteristics of the uninsured and the underinsured, the tax implications of excluding employer-paid premiums for health insurance from employee income, and the differences among socioeconomic and demographic groups with respect to the use of health services. (cdc.gov)

Shelley Rouillard, director of the California Department of Managed Health Care, said 36 of 40 health insurers she reviewed - including industry giants like Aetna and UnitedHealthcare - could face fines for failing to submit accurate data or comply with state rules. (californiahealthline.org)
Elevance says it's now the largest US insurer, beating out UnitedHealthcare. (healthcaredive.com)
Elevance Health says it has secured its place as the largest insurer in the U.S., covering more people than UnitedHealthcare. (healthcaredive.com)
For the past six quarters, Elevance's financial reports show it has provided medical coverage to more people in the U.S. than UnitedHealthcare, a longstanding giant in the health sector. (healthcaredive.com)
Elevance Health ended the third quarter with 47.2 million members, including BlueCard members, while UnitedHealthcare covered 45.9 million people in the U.S. (healthcaredive.com)

WASHINGTON (November 2, 2022) - A new report and infographic from the American Hospital Association (AHA) released today highlights how some commercial health insurers apply policies that can cause dangerous delays in care for patients, result in undue burden on health care providers and add billions of dollars in unnecessary costs to the health care system. (aha.org)
In a letter sent to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Department of Labor Secretary Martin Walsh, the AHA stressed the importance of comprehensive coverage for patients and urged the Administration to take additional actions to ensure adequate oversight of commercial health insurers. (aha.org)

The AHA advocates on behalf of our nearly 5,000 member hospitals, health systems and other health care organizations, our clinician partners - including more than 270,000 affiliated physicians, 2 million nurses and other caregivers - and the 43,000 health care leaders who belong to our professional membership groups. (aha.org)
Until then, cancer survivors should feel empowered to be their own advocates by proactively discussing their health questions and concerns with their physicians. (canceradvocacy.org)

She particularly liked a 10% increase in Medicare payments to all primary care physicians for certain services, including preventive visits, management of new diagnoses and related follow-up visits and management of acute medical problems. (cnn.com)
How did we Americans allow health insurers to dictate how physicians practice good medicine? (kevinmd.com)
This indicates a shift in how patients view access to primary care physicians and may explain why telehealth is becoming an attractive option. (darkdaily.com)
Physicians want laws to curtail the crushing burden of faxes and calls insurers impose on them as a requirement for coverage. (motherjones.com)
Bera says that, since the vast majority of prior authorization requests are eventually authorized, insurers' overzealous use of the strategy merely delays care and wastes physicians' time instead of saving the health care system money. (motherjones.com)
Private-equity-owned Duly Health & Care, the area's largest physicians organization, is retrenching amid financial pressures and industrywide challenges. (chicagobusiness.com)
Charles Bacchi, chief executive of the California Association of Health Plans, said some mistakes may have been made but emphasized that measuring patient access to physicians is difficult. (californiahealthline.org)
Starting in 2011, the ARRA will provide $37 billion to hospitals and physicians making "meaningful use" of electronic health records, with penalties for those failing to do so by 2015. (mckinsey.com)
43 Research shows that when diabetes care and education specialists and physicians collaborate, "positive clinical quality and cost savings" result. (cdc.gov)
Increasing referral rates to DSMES (especially among low-referring physicians) and increasing underserved populations' access to DSMES are promising strategies for increasing health care quality and reducing costs. (cdc.gov)

Anger on Capitol Hill is growing over moves by insurers to deny claims being filed by restaurants, retailers and other businesses that believed they had coverage to financially protect themselves. (politico.com)
Anger on Capitol Hill is growing over moves by insurers to deny claims filed by restaurants, retailers and other businesses that believe they have coverage to financially protect themselves from a major disruption like the one they're now enduring. (politico.com)

Marketplace plans tend to be somewhere in the middle: During the 2022 open enrollment period for federal marketplace plans, race or ethnicity data was collected for about 70% of enrollees, according to researchers at the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University. (modernhealthcare.com)
Starting in 2022, require insurers to make available data files on the costs of various procedures, allowing technology companies to design apps that let patients see costs not only under their own plan but other insurers' plans as well. (necn.com)

Arizona counties are particularly hard hit by the withdrawal of three insurers from the state's marketplace (Assurant, the University of AZ Health Plans, and most recently the co-op plan Meritus), as well as by continuing insurers changing the areas within the state that they service. (kff.org)

The insurer earned over 140 billion dollars in 2020 and is projecting to earn $165 billion this year. (kevinmd.com)
Some Good News: Five Reproductive Health Wins in 2020! (nwlc.org)

Starting in 2023, require insurers to make available to their policyholders cost-sharing details on 500 specific services, medical equipment and other items, as called for by the government. (necn.com)
Lobbying Allowed Insurers to Charge Docs $ to Receive Payments Online: Report - Medscape - August 21, 2023. (medscape.com)
MONDAY, Oct. 16, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- A new rule allows health care providers to be reimbursed for treating homeless people wherever they are, rather than just in hospitals or clinics. (msdmanuals.com)

Since then, some insurers have announced their exit or been required to withdraw from the Marketplaces, most notably a number of nonprofit Consumer Operated and Oriented Plans (CO-OPs) and some larger insurers like Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico. (kff.org)

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), in partnership with the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety (LMRIS) and the National Safety Council (NSC), hosted the fifth National Occupational Injury Research Symposium (NOIRS) on October 18-20, 2011 at the Waterfront Place Hotel in Morgantown, West Virginia. (cdc.gov)

There's no question now how serious the COVID-19 pandemic is and will continue to be for many months to come," said Eagan Kemp, health care advocate at Public Citizen. (citizen.org)
Industry insiders argue that it's a way insurers can help the country during a deep economic slump while also heading off bipartisan pressure from Congress to pay out tens of billions of dollars or more in claims to businesses that have been forced to close their doors to slow the spread of the pandemic. (politico.com)
Insurers have seen enrollment swell amid the pandemic thanks to federal policies designed to protect Americans from losing coverage amid the public health emergency. (healthcaredive.com)
In the event of pandemic influenza, businesses will play a key role in protecting employees' health and safety as well as limiting the negative impact to the economy and society. (cdc.gov)
Find up-to-date, reliable pandemic information from community public health, emergency management, and other sources and make sustainable links. (cdc.gov)
Evaluate employee access to and availability of healthcare services during a pandemic, and improve services as needed. (cdc.gov)
Evaluate employee access to and availability of mental health and social services during a pandemic, including corporate, community, and faith-based resources, and improve services as needed. (cdc.gov)

By 2024, marketplace plans will have to submit any available quality data, stratified by race, for measures such as colorectal cancer screening, high blood pressure management and prenatal care. (modernhealthcare.com)
In Missouri alone, the plan volunteered to cover 25 counties with no health insurance options after the local Blue Cross plan quit the marketplace. (vox.com)
I did an in-depth interview with Counihan in June 2014, when he was still running the Connecticut marketplace (prior to taking the reins at Healthcare.gov). (vox.com)
The study by researchers at the National Women's Law Center , an advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., examined exclusions in marketplace plans offered by 109 insurers in 16 states in 2014 and 2015. (nwlc.org)
The ACA's Healthcare Marketplace website promises, "Your insurance company can't turn you down or charge you more because of your pre-existing health or medical condition like asthma, back pain, diabetes, or cancer. (hepb.org)
While health plans sold on the marketplace can't openly refuse to insure people with pre-existing conditions, some have devised an insidious way to discourage people with hepatitis B from buying their policies. (hepb.org)
People who file complaints don't have to have hepatitis B, or even buy health plans on the marketplace. (hepb.org)
Even if you don't file a complaint, if you shop for healthcare insurance on the marketplace, take time to thoroughly research how much the plan will charge for antivirals to protect your rights and your wallet. (hepb.org)
The Biden administration on Friday proposed rules aimed at consumer protection and transparency, one of which would require marketplace and short-term, limited-duration health plans to disclose their financial relationships with an agent or broker. (healthcaredive.com)
Just five HMOs control approximately 80% of the health insurance marketplace and those companies are not required to abide by anti-gouging rules that apply to auto insurers under Prop 103 . (consumerwatchdog.org)
If you buy your own health coverage through Access Health CT or the private marketplace, we want to hear from you. (universalhealthct.org)
These insurers continuing to flee the individual marketplace sends a confusing message to consumers, says Michael Cannon, director of Health Policy Studies at the CATO Institute. (foxbusiness.com)
Aetna's decision to alter its Marketplace participation does not change the fundamental fact that the Health Insurance Marketplace will continue to bring quality coverage to millions of Americans next year and every year after that," Counihan said. (freebeacon.com)
With high consumer satisfaction , more people getting care , and an improving risk pool , incoming data continue to show that the future of the Marketplace is strong. (freebeacon.com)

One of the Obama administration's top health care officials has joined an insurance company that is betting big on the Affordable Care Act's marketplaces. (vox.com)

Pollack said the legislation makes sure health care is affordable and that people won't lose their coverage if they get sick or have a pre-existing condition. (cnn.com)
From a coverage standpoint, the group said the measure comes closer to providing health care to every child in America, although families without legal documentation will still be barred from coverage unless its emergency care. (cnn.com)
Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox. (modernhealthcare.com)
Notably, the insurer hasn't been scared off by the recent uncertainty around the health law, and has actually raised its hand to sell coverage in areas of the country where other insurers won't. (vox.com)
Patients deserve comprehensive health coverage with the protections they were promised when they signed up. (aha.org)
The survey results echo findings from a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General report from earlier this year that raised serious concerns about beneficiary access to care and inappropriate coverage and payment denials in the Medicare Advantage program. (aha.org)
The AHA report offers a number of solutions for policymakers to reduce the risk and burden of certain commercial health insurer practices while still enabling insurers to compete on quality, benefit package design, provider networks and other important aspects of coverage. (aha.org)
Absent an NCD, health insurance providers use evidence-based guidelines to develop medical coverage policies," AHIP said. (fiercehealthcare.com)
Coverage by a majority of health insurance providers or a majority of commercial enrollees would be more representative," AHIP said. (fiercehealthcare.com)
The proposed rules from HHS aim to increase transparency by requiring issuers offering individual health insurance coverage or short-term, limited-duration plans to disclose to consumers - before they select a plan, and when they confirm enrollment - the commission rates and compensation structure paid by the issuer to any agent or broker associated with enrolling that person. (healthcaredive.com)
Health insurers have asked for an average 20.4% increase from individuals who buy their own coverage. (universalhealthct.org)
50 employees) and you struggle to afford health coverage for your staff, we want to hear from you. (universalhealthct.org)
Health plans across the country are leaving the small group and individual health insurance markets, forcing people to find other sources of coverage. (i2i.org)
I will have to start the whole process over with a new health insurance company July 1, and they would doubtless reject coverage too. (counterpunch.org)
In early 2015, an average of 6.1 insurer groups offered coverage in each state, up from an average of 5.0 in 2014. (kff.org)
Overall, 17% of counties in states using Healthcare.gov will see a net increase in the number of insurers offering coverage, while 36% will see a net decrease. (kff.org)
Even so, in a substantial number of counties (1,045, or 40%) residents will have one or two insurers offering coverage, up from 35% in 2015. (kff.org)
It is a public-sector insurer and leading provider of health care coverage for employees in case of accidents in Switzerland. (wikipedia.org)
Together, the major components of NMES-2 contain information to make national estimates of health status, use of health services, insurance coverage, expenditures, and sources of payment for the civilian population of the United States during the period from January 1 to December 31, 1987. (cdc.gov)
The database can also be used to assess the implications of recent or proposed changes in public or private health care benefits, methods of financing both health care and insurance coverage, various public and private subsidies for health care, and employee compensation arrangements. (cdc.gov)

The health care law includes new tools to hold insurers accountable for premium hikes and give rebates to consumers," said Brian Cook, a spokesman for Medicare, which is helping to oversee the insurance reforms. (healthcare-now.org)
Congress and the Administration need to act now to hold commercial insurers accountable for actions that delay patient care, contribute to clinician burnout and workforce shortages, and increase costs. (aha.org)

We know that Health Insurers are forcing bad medical choices at the patient's harm. (kevinmd.com)
Doctors have long asserted that prior authorization-the need to get approval from the patient's insurer before proceeding with treatment-causes delays that can hurt patient care. (motherjones.com)

Many of these efforts are designed to badger health insurers into accepting losses and smaller premium hikes through intimidation," Herrick said. (heartland.org)

Topics covered: payer-provider partnerships, value-based care efforts, payer market moves and healthcare reform efforts. (healthcaredive.com)
TeamHealth looks forward to continuing its efforts to ensure that our frontline clinicians have the resources to provide the high-quality lifesaving care and services patients rely on, from coast to coast," CEO Leif Murphy said in a written statement . (wkyufm.org)
We continue and reinforce efforts aimed to raise consultation rate of routine medical checkup and various cancer screening in order for health promotion appropriate to life stages and for early detection and early treatment of disease. (who.int)
Efforts to promote healthy eating behaviors among pregnant women should consider and address mental health. (bvsalud.org)

A bright point on the horizon is an effort by the American Medical Association (AMA) to promote insurer practices that prevent the egregious ballroom antics described here, and similar practices that hurt patients and inhibit effective care. (kevinmd.com)
To fight these practices, The AIDS Institute and the National Health Law Program filed complaints in Florida against insurance companies that inflated their HIV drug prices through "adverse tiering" to discourage people living with HIV from buying their plans. (hepb.org)
But, as drug prices rise, insurers are intensifying prior authorization requirements and physician practices have built up a huge infrastructure to fight for the drugs they want to prescribe. (motherjones.com)
Healthcare providers like doctors, therapists, and other medical practitioners can use Business Profile to claim and manage info for their practices. (google.com)
Practices can add an "Online care" attribute. (google.com)
In response to a question about trends involving several current cases involving MA insurers, Lindsey said, "I think we're seeing some of the historical risk areas with these cases, things like prospective reviews of medical records before a patient comes in for a visit and the concept of leading queries from coders to providers are practices that have been traditionally scrutinized. (bassberry.com)

We're not going to be able to [reduce health disparities] if we don't know more about where the disparities are," said Abner Mason, CEO and founder of SameSky Health, a company that contracts with health insurers and provider organizations to connect patients with care navigation resources tailored to their cultural backgrounds. (modernhealthcare.com)
The U-Mass Lowell PHASE in healthcare research project has been a five-year NIOSH-funded study of health disparities among healthcare workers. (cdc.gov)
Disparities among workers at risk: Overall, direct care workers are at greatest risk of injury, especially nurses and nursing assistants, although this varies according to type of injury, language, ethnicity, and class. (cdc.gov)
The Institute for Health Policy and Leadership has more on disparities in health care for the homeless . (msdmanuals.com)

We should not allow insurance company profits to prevent proper care for patients. (kevinmd.com)
Even some other biological cancer drugs are being dropped from health insurers' formularies, and patients are being told that their life-saving drugs will no longer be covered. (kevinmd.com)
It is the dreaded "PA", which is insurance-speak for "prior authorization" and it seems that no matter which way we turn it appears, standing between our patients and the care they need. (kevinmd.com)
We presumed success, due to a lack of response from the insurer (No news is good news or so they say) and we moved on to dance for the rest of our patients. (kevinmd.com)
You see, when this insurer, which will remain nameless (Hint: It covers patients that probably cannot afford other insurance) asks for details, they want all the gory details. (kevinmd.com)
Driven by studies showing more patients are opting out of conventional primary care visits that take too much time or are too far away, the healthcare industry is responding by bringing medical services-including pathology and clinical laboratory-closer to patients through retail settings and urgent care clinics. (darkdaily.com)
Many pathologists and clinical laboratory managers are unaware of how swiftly patients are becoming comfortable with getting their primary care needs met by other types of caregivers, including virtually. (darkdaily.com)
Another way that providers are making it easier for patients to access healthcare is through the Internet. (darkdaily.com)
In a way, it has never been easier for patients to see a primary care doctor or research symptoms. (darkdaily.com)
With the help of legislation like his, Bera said, "We could actually move the pendulum back towards doctors taking care of patients. (motherjones.com)
The idea that insurance companies could influence how patients should be treated emerged in the 1980s, when insurers began requiring pre-approval for some hospital admissions and high-cost procedures before they would agree to pay for them. (motherjones.com)
Does creating the U.S.'s biggest insurer help patients? (marketplace.org)
Patients would use an online shopping tool from their plan to see the negotiated rate between their doctor and the insurer, as well as an out-of-pocket cost estimate for procedures, drugs, durable medical equipment and any other item or service they may need. (necn.com)
Rouillard said she told health plan executives in a meeting last week that such widespread errors made it impossible for regulators to tell whether patients have timely access to care in accordance with state law. (californiahealthline.org)
Outdated and inaccurate provider lists can hinder patients from getting treated and, in some cases, lead to huge unforeseen medical bills when people unwittingly go out of network for care. (californiahealthline.org)
Under California law, patients must get urgent care appointments within 48 to 96 hours. (californiahealthline.org)
When patients search for a healthcare provider on Google, your Business Profile may appear in their search results. (google.com)
This attribute lets patients easily find your Business Profile on Google when they search for care options. (google.com)
You can add links for virtual care and appointments to direct patients to those pages on your website or your practice's profile on a 3P virtual care site. (google.com)
Each of these forces will alter the way health care payers deliver services to patients and process the large flows of payments at the heart of the business. (mckinsey.com)
Violence and abuse occur across practice settings, with patients as primary perpetrators and direct care staff the primary targets. (cdc.gov)
Nurses attribute increasing assaults and abuse to lack of preventive programs and management support, inadequate staffing and security measures, admission of patients with histories of violence, the "free flow of people [into healthcare facilities] and increased aggressiveness of patients and families," short staffing and long waits for service leading to patient frustration. (cdc.gov)
Impact of stress and trauma on physical and emotional health: The stress emanating from the fast pace, overtime, noise from telemetry, fear of potentially dangerous patients, and chronic fatigue is insidious-out of the nurse's immediate awareness-but cumulative, eventually revealing itself in conditions such as dental pain, sleep deprivation, a compromised immune system, and subsequent increased vulnerability to infections and injuries from various exposures. (cdc.gov)
Group care models, in which patients with similar health conditions receive medical services in a shared appointment, have increasingly been adopted in a variety of health care settings. (bvsalud.org)

According to legal and medical reports , these insurers' drug tier designs and their discriminatory cost-sharing requirements deliberately discourage people who desperately medications from enrolling in their plans. (hepb.org)
No one should avoid seeking health care for fear of receiving a surprise medical bill," CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks- LaSure said in a statement. (healthcaredive.com)
As Primary Care Providers and Health Insurers Embrace Telehealth, How Will Clinical Laboratories Provide Medical Lab Testing Services? (darkdaily.com)
He writes, "Managing the health of cancer survivors may require a new medical subspecialty. (canceradvocacy.org)
Perhaps counter-intuitively, prior authorization is one of several strategies that insurers use to reduce wasteful medical spending. (motherjones.com)
They owed the state $16.7 million in overpayments related to medical loss ratio, or premium dollars spent on improving health care quality, and corrections to risk adjustment factors, or reimbursements to Medicare Advantage plans based on members' health. (chicagobusiness.com)
This might be other healthcare providers in a group, practice administrators, medical receptionists, or medical office managers. (google.com)
Healthcare providers and medical groups with more than 10 locations can instantly update and verify all of their profiles with a single spreadsheet upload . (google.com)
The goal, in the words of President Obama, was to "make sure that every doctor's office and hospital in this country is using cutting-edge technology and electronic health records, so that we can cut red tape, prevent medical mistakes, and help save billions of dollars each year. (mckinsey.com)
As the degree to which these subsidiaries compete against each other is unclear, we group issuers by parent company (using data from Mark Farrah Associates and HHS Medical Loss Ratio public use files), and refer to these groupings of affiliated issuers as single "insurers" throughout the analysis. (kff.org)
DATA1 DATA2 SRC DATA PURCHASE AND USE AGREEMENT For use with the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey Data Individual identifiers have been removed from the micro-data tapes available from the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research through NTIS. (cdc.gov)
BACKGROUND General Information This documentation describes one in a series of public use tapes issued by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research with data from the National Medical Expenditure Survey. (cdc.gov)
The National Medical Expenditure Survey (NMES) is a research project of the Center for General Health Services Intramural Research, Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. (cdc.gov)
The first series of studies (NMES-1) employed data collected in the 1977 National Medical Care Expenditure Survey. (cdc.gov)
Excess employee medical care costs associated with eldercare were highest among younger employees, men, and blue-collar workers. (cdc.gov)
Dr. Chowgule's dedication and the energy she brought to medical issues of women's and children's health was infectious. (cdc.gov)
We were hosted by Dr. V.M. Katoch, Director General of the Indian Council on Medical Research and Secretary for Health Research. (cdc.gov)
In some cases, medical equipment like digital stethoscopes, otoscopes, or ultrasounds can be used by another healthcare provider like a nurse or a medical assistant physically with the patient, while the consulting medical provider conducts a remote evaluation. (cdc.gov)
1 In particular, it now deals exclusively with medical devices as a major subset of health technologies. (who.int)
Medical devices may be broadly defined as diagnostic and therapeutic equipment, instruments and supplies and ancillary equipment.2 They are indispensable for health-care practitioners as tools for prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation and thus for the effective control of major health problems and the attainment of the health-related Millenium Development Goals. (who.int)
However, the improper selection, management or use of medical devices may lead to a disproportionate rise in the costs of health-care delivery. (who.int)
Expenditure on medical devices contributes to increased health-care costs, which have reached crisis proportions in many countries and are coming under close scrutiny from governments, health-care providers, insurers and consumers. (who.int)
The management of medical devices should be recognized as an integral part of public-health policy. (who.int)
Assessment should be based on epidemiological and demographic data, indicators of availability and rates of usage of medical devices in health-care facilities, staff capabilities and the resources available for procuring and operating these devices. (who.int)
Instead of a doctor's office, routine medical treatments and preventive care can now be done wherever unhoused people are. (msdmanuals.com)
Applying the Triple Aim framework, we examined the potential of group medical care to optimize health system performance through improved patient experience, better health outcomes, and the reduced cost of health care. (bvsalud.org)

Counihan has now joined Centene, an insurance company that has doubled down on the health insurance marketplaces at the moment others have fled. (vox.com)

Delays and denials have human consequences that insurers seem to fail to recognize. (kevinmd.com)
Hospitals and health systems report growing rates of delays and denials for medically necessary care and that appeals frequently result in insurers overturning their earlier decisions. (aha.org)

Because these counties are largely rural (discussed more in the following section), the share of potential of exchange enrollees in these counties is likely lower than 40% (as these counties represent just 32% of the population in the 38 states using Healthcare.gov). (kff.org)

PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates that costs may increase just 7.5 percent next year, well below the rate increases being sought by some insurers. (healthcare-now.org)
Critics, like Dave Jones, the California insurance commissioner and one of two health plan regulators in that state, said that without a federal provision giving all regulators the ability to deny excessive rate increases, some insurance companies can raise rates as much as they did before the law was enacted. (healthcare-now.org)
The insurer is requesting a range of increases, which average about 12 percent for 2013. (healthcare-now.org)
The tactics highlighted can delay patient care and put even more strain on an already overburdened workforce, with 95% of hospitals and health systems reporting increases in staff time spent seeking prior authorization approvals. (aha.org)
Los Angeles, CA - Governor Schwarzenegger's "Summit on Health Care Affordability" ignored the two leading causes of health care cost increases: health insurer overhead costs and drug company profits. (consumerwatchdog.org)
Health insurer profits and overhead - including salaries, advertising, and administration - are the fastest growing health care costs followed closely by annual prescription drug increases. (consumerwatchdog.org)

To their credit, PAs are truly equally opportunity barriers to care. (kevinmd.com)
This suggested worsening barriers and added burden on healthcare systems. (medscape.com)
Health care provider barriers to referral. (cdc.gov)
CDC's telehealth guidance, discuss frontline clinician experiences related to telehealth implementation across the spectrum of health services and diverse patient basis, discuss how current experiences can inform strategies to identify and improve telehealth access and equity, and list strategies to facilitate and promote telehealth and address barriers to implementation during COVID-19 and beyond. (cdc.gov)

CMS is sending a signal to the entire innovation ecosystem that taking the risk to develop new breakthroughs will be rewarded if those devices receive FDA marketing authorization and improve patient care," the group said. (fiercehealthcare.com)

It would also require those issuers to report to HHS the total amount of direct and indirect compensation paid to agents and brokers for the proceeding year, aiming to throw additional light on a relatively opaque area of health spending. (healthcaredive.com)
as of January there were 91 issuers involved, according to Health Affairs. (balloon-juice.com)

California officials discovered the latest problems while reviewing annual reports filed by insurers. (californiahealthline.org)

Humana, Kaiser Permanente, a BCBS group of insurers and Cigna Crop have all launched venture funds or units to invest in healthcare startups. (smithhanley.com)
Humana is using Synapse in its new On Hand virtual primary care plan, the news release states. (darkdaily.com)
Humana has a deep footprint, and this is a payer looking to create a virtual primary care network as a way to contain cost and thinking about how care is coordinated and delivered," Josh Berlin , a Principal and Healthcare Co-Practice Leader with advisory firm Citrin Cooperman , told FierceHealthcare . (darkdaily.com)
Other large insurers like Humana and UnitedHealth have said they are cutting participation in the exchanges. (freebeacon.com)

The American Hospital Association (AHA) is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the health improvement of their communities. (aha.org)
The foundation, in collaboration with the National Health Law Program , has created instructions and a template for consumers and organizations to use to file complaints. (hepb.org)

In July, Aetna sent out a letter to its policyholders, informing them that the new law had revamped the health-care system "as we know it"and that policyholders should brace for higher prices. (foxbusiness.com)
Haislmaier said that while a $400 million loss for Aetna is substantial, their losses have not been nearly as bad as other insurers. (freebeacon.com)
The fact that Aetna is now throwing in the towel in most of this, indicates to me that we're headed for a market where you really have only one or two insurers per state, and they will probably be locally based in most cases," he said. (freebeacon.com)
Many insurers, including industry giants like Aetna, could face fines for failing to submit accurate data. (californiahealthline.org)

While some findings predate COVID-19, recent data reinforces challenges from before the public health emergency that have persisted. (aha.org)
Findings from a recent study of a very large multi-national manufacturing company are quite sobering in terms of differences in health between employees with and without eldercare responsibilities. (cdc.gov)
Although findings varied between studies, no adverse effects were associated with group health care delivery in these randomized controlled trials. (bvsalud.org)

Much of the care that we get is unaffordable, unnecessary or harmful. (citizen.org)
They have dramatically increased the copays consumers pay out-of-pocket for the two leading hepatitis B antiviral drugs (Viread and generic entecavir) to deliberately make their health plans unaffordable for people with chronic hepatitis B. (hepb.org)
A key finding is that health care costs are unaffordable when they exceed 7-11% of family budgets, depending on household size. (universalhealthct.org)

There are a lot of regulations in the law that make health insurance costly for companies, but the big number to keep in mind is $1 trillion. (foxbusiness.com)

The report, which includes results of surveys conducted by the AHA, found 78% of hospitals and health systems reported their experience working with commercial insurers is getting worse, with fewer than 1% reporting it was getting better. (aha.org)

Cannon also worries that despite the subsidies available to insurers under the health-care law, they still aren't willing to work under the new law. (foxbusiness.com)
The recent legislation mandates new insurance exchanges, subsidies, and tax credits that will lead millions of consumers to contract directly with the health insurance payers. (mckinsey.com)

When Governor Schwarzenegger is joined by insurance executives to discuss health care affordability you can be sure that they won't be talking about cutting bloated insurer profits and overhead," said Jerry Flanagan of FTCR. (consumerwatchdog.org)

I guess these private insurers with rapidly approaching deadlines for their fee waivers are saying to their consumers: 'If you are going to contract COVID-19, you'd better hurry up or you're out of luck! (citizen.org)
You must give private health information statements to policy holders. (health.gov.au)
Learn more from the Commonwealth Ombudsman about private health information statements . (health.gov.au)
Nearly half of Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in a private Medicare Advantage health plan, and enrollment in these plans is growing at a rate of nearly 10% per year, raising the importance of ensuring adequate oversight in the program. (aha.org)
In its 2009 National Health Insurer Report Card, the AMA reports that Medicare denied only 4% of claims-a big improvement, but outpaced better still by the private insurers. (blogspot.com)
Check out this interview with Karen Pollitz, senior fellow for health reform and private insurance, who worked on the new "denied claims" analysis. (canceradvocacy.org)
This month, the insurer filed a $100 million lawsuit in Tennessee, where TeamHealth is based, making a case that the private equity-owned company improperly coded ER visits to boost its revenue. (wkyufm.org)
While percentages remained relatively stable over the study period, the ratio of private insurer to Medicare payments did rise from 222% in 2018 to 235% in 2019. (dotmed.com)
Many directly bill Medicare (8) and private insurers (7) if asked. (cdc.gov)

I shop for all kinds of things online and dont see why I wouldn't like credible source about health insurance (or doctors or hospitals for that matter). (blogspot.com)
On the other side, lobbying groups for hospitals and doctors say a tie-up - which would eliminate a Big Five insurer - would limit choice in many healthcare markets in the country. (marketplace.org)

All sides in America's health care system have weighed in on the House's passage of a $940 billion reform plan. (cnn.com)
It went from health care reform to health insurance reform,' said Robert Zirkelbach, spokesman for AHIP. (cnn.com)
The political discussion of health care reform will continue to ignore the 900 pound gorilla in the room until the influence of insurer and drug company campaign contributions are stripped out. (consumerwatchdog.org)
FTCR said that the key to a honest discussion of health care reform is to remove big business influence in the political system as proposed under Proposition 89 . (consumerwatchdog.org)
Three principal regulatory currents are producing the impending change: the recently passed federal health care reform bill, new health care IT mandates from last year's US stimulus package, and ICD-10, a long-overdue expansion of coding standards for the exchange of health care data across payers and providers. (mckinsey.com)
Naturally, Anthem is one of the loudest voices objecting to health care reform. (counterpunch.org)

Insurers (who have learned not to believe those promises anyway) worried the site's back-end won't be capable of transferring consumers' enrollment and payment information, even though the front-end seems to be working fine . (nextgov.com)

Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data. (modernhealthcare.com)
Many insurers have started by collecting race and ethnicity data, with the goal of including sexual orientation and gender identity information down the line. (modernhealthcare.com)
Federal agencies provide some direction for insurers when it comes to sorting data. (modernhealthcare.com)
I am frustrated with the health plans because the data we got was unacceptable. (californiahealthline.org)
Data sources included $78.8 billion in spending on hospital-based care and $2 billion on care in ambulatory surgery centers. (dotmed.com)
This analysis is based on public data in states that use Healthcare.gov (including some state-based exchanges that use the platform). (kff.org)
Nevertheless, under sections 308(d) and 903(c) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 242m and 42 U.S.C. 299 a-1), data collected by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research may not be used for any purpose other than the purpose for which it was supplied. (cdc.gov)
The information on the micr data tapes available for purchase was supplied to the Agency for statistic and health services research. (cdc.gov)
It is necessary, therefore, that the indi such micro-data tapes sign the following assurance: The user gives assurance that individual elementary unit data on the micro-data tapes being ordered will be used solely for statistical summaries and health services research. (cdc.gov)
Baseline data on household composition, employment, and insurance were updated at each interview, and information was obtained on illnesses, use of health services, and health expenditures for each family member. (cdc.gov)
Data from the United States National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) have shown that the overall autopsy rates (ie, medicolegal plus forensic cases) decreased from 19.1% of all deaths in 1972 to 8.5% in 2007. (medscape.com)
Dr. Chowgule demonstrated a nice application she had developed for storing on her iPad clinical data that could be used by doctors and other health care professionals visiting rural areas as well as for developing telemedicine capability in such settings. (cdc.gov)
Studies based on data from randomized control trials (RCTs) conducted in the US and analyzed using an intent-to-treat approach to test the effect of group visits versus standard individual care on at least one Triple Aim domain were included. (bvsalud.org)
International comparison of health care data : methodology development and application / C. J. P. M. van Mosseveld and P. van Son. (who.int)

The definition of race and ethnicity can differ among brokers, health plans and other entities, posing difficulties with verification and combined datasets. (modernhealthcare.com)
When health insurers design plans, they assign each prescription drug a price "tier. (hepb.org)
Consumers will have to do some research on the marketplace's website to discover the drug prices in their region, but they can help end discrimination and bring down the rapidly-escalating drug prices found in many health plans. (hepb.org)
The rule, if finalized, would require plans to report how much they paid to an agent or broker during the previous year, while another requires insurers and providers of air ambulance services to disclose detailed information about air ambulance services. (healthcaredive.com)
Google and GE are the most active investors in healthcare startups but while GE announced plans to divest its healthcare assets in June of 2018, it has continued to make healthcare investments out of its GE ventures investment arm. (smithhanley.com)
I suspected that Blue Cross Blue Shield's heavily advertised individual Keystone plans in Pennsylvania were rejecting many applicants--they rejected me despite no serious health problems and offered my husband a surcharged price for flimsy reasons. (blogspot.com)
Clear Spring currently operates Medicare Advantage plans in Colorado, Illinois, North Carolina, and Virginia, as well as Georgia and South Carolina through its affiliate Eon Health, according to the insurer's website. (chicagobusiness.com)
The new rules are being issued jointly by HHS, the Labor Department and the Treasury, which share jurisdiction over health insurance plans. (necn.com)
Health plans are committed to providing timely access to health care and we believe that we provide that successfully," Bacchi said. (californiahealthline.org)
Clearly this report demonstrates that we have work to do to improve our survey responses, and health plans are committed to working with the department to address it. (californiahealthline.org)
Most did not report patient-level vaccination information to health plans (10 vaccinators), primary-care providers (9), or registries (8). (cdc.gov)
Dr. Katoch and I both stressed the need for all of our joint projects to develop plans that included the eventual translation of the projects into public health interventions and strategies that would benefit all of India and serve to inform public health practice in the United States. (cdc.gov)
The White House earlier this year announced plans to reduce that by 25% by 2025, KFF Health News reported. (msdmanuals.com)
In this One-on-One interview, Medscape Editor-in-Chief Eric J. Topol, MD, talks with the musician-turned-investor about his plans to disrupt and democratize healthcare. (medscape.com)

The Biden-Harris administration has been focused on expanding access to health care across the country," CMS spokesperson Sara Lonardo told KFF Health News , explaining that federal officials created the new reimbursement code at the request of street medicine providers who weren't being paid for their work. (msdmanuals.com)

Cigna, another big insurer, named 8,572 on the one list who were not on the other, a 36 percent discrepancy. (californiahealthline.org)

And the latest wave of insurers exiting the individual market is likely just the beginning, says Cannon. (foxbusiness.com)
Haislmaier says that Aetna's exit is one reason to believe the insurance market is headed to a place where there will only be one or two insurers operating in every state. (freebeacon.com)
Insurers have to decide now if they are going to keep pursuing this heavily regulated market, where they are losing money, or just exit," Haislmaier said. (freebeacon.com)
According to Devon Herrick, a senior fellow at the Washington-DC based National Center for Policy Analysis, the grants are a political tool designed to pressure insurers when they follow market signals. (heartland.org)
Each country needs to strike a balance between the largely supply-driven market in devices and the needs of the health system. (who.int)

Global Trade Watch's mission is to ensure that in this era of globalization, a majority have the opportunity to enjoy economic security, a healthy environment, safe food, medicines and products, access to quality affordable services such as health care and the exercise of democratic decision-making about the matters that affect our lives. (citizen.org)
The Office of Minority Health in the Department of Health and Human Services could play a role in creating information standards for healthcare, Reynolds said. (modernhealthcare.com)
Centene recognizes there is uncertainty of new health care legislation, but we are well-positioned to continue providing accessible, high-quality and culturally sensitive health care services to our members," Centene chief executive Michael Neidorff said at the time of the expansion. (vox.com)
Apple has focused more on building out its internal healthcare services HealthKit, CareKit and ResearchKit. (smithhanley.com)
The New York City-based health plan reported in a year-end review that 82% of its members had set up a profile that gave them access to a concierge care team and 24/7 telemedicine services, including clinical laboratory test results. (darkdaily.com)
It will be impossible to walk backwards on this," Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said. (necn.com)
Starting in 2024, require insurers to make cost-sharing information available on all the services and goods they cover. (necn.com)
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced 45 states and the District of Columbia will receive one million dollars each toward improving health insurance oversight. (heartland.org)
Spending on hospital services ended up accounting for 37% of total personal healthcare spending in 2019. (dotmed.com)
You can add educational pictures and diagrams to help them learn more about what types of health services you provide. (google.com)
Because health care costs are lower for people with diabetes who attend at least one DSMES session, the benefits of DSMES services outweigh the costs of providing the services. (cdc.gov)
Diabetes care and education specialists (DCESs) are critically important to the provision of DSMES services. (cdc.gov)
We combined the 10 US Department of Health and Human Services regions to create 5 study regions. (cdc.gov)
We publicize long-term care services and promote their usage through our website, brochure and seminar etc. so that everyone can use them when necessary. (who.int)
Since long-term care insurance premium might rise in the future due to an increase of the number of those certified as needing long-term care/support, we continuously make effort to maintain care services benefits at an appropriate level. (who.int)
This survey provides extensive information on health expenditures by or on behalf of families and individuals, the financing of these expenditures, and each person's use of services. (cdc.gov)
Since the 1970s the intramural research program has given particular emphasis to studies of the use and financing of health services. (cdc.gov)
Considerable time and effort is often required to provide and arrange for health and social services for disabled older relatives, and family members often have to juggle this time and effort with their own full-time or part-time employment and other responsibilities. (cdc.gov)
Further, when employees who provide eldercare have physical or emotional health problems related to their caregiving responsibilities, these employees are more likely to seek and use health care services than other employees. (cdc.gov)
This JWG was formed as the result of a memorandum of understanding between the Indian Ministry of Health (ICMR) and Family Welfare and the US Department of Health and Human Services with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention serving as the lead agency. (cdc.gov)
Administration of the US Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, defines telehealth as the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support long distance clinical healthcare, patient and professional health related education, and public health and health administration services. (cdc.gov)

Synapse's "smart referrals" function sends referrals to in-network clinical laboratories, imaging providers, and pharmacies, Healthcare Dive reported. (darkdaily.com)
But the new report suggests that insurers may be misrepresenting which providers they have under contract or are unable to collect accurate information. (californiahealthline.org)
Without proper management of demand, through needs assessment, rational procurement, proper installation, preventive maintenance, rational use and quality assurance, it will be difficult for health-care providers to contain costs, particularly in countries with limited economic resources. (who.int)
Now doctors, nurses and other providers can provide reimbursed care in a "non-permanent location on the street or found environment. (msdmanuals.com)

President Obama said on Tuesday that he checks the HealthCare.gov website every day to review its progress. (nextgov.com)
While the insurer compare site may have given the Obama Administration some positive news media attention, ( aided by AHIP's needless push back ) the DMCB doubts it will ultimately have much of a material impact - based on the current evidence - on the purchasing behavior of consumers of health insurance. (blogspot.com)

In an article for AIS Health - RADAR on Medicare Advantage, Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Lindsey Fetzer discussed the Department of Justice's (DOJ) focus on pursuing Medicare Advantage (MA) insurers for wrongdoing under the False Claims Act (FCA) related to recoupment of overpayments. (bassberry.com)
The full article, " On Top of RADV and Other Enforcement Tools, MA Insurers Should Watch False Claims Act Space ," was published by AIS Health - RADAR on Medicare Advantage on March 2 and is available online (subscription required). (bassberry.com)

Although insurers are hardly sympathetic figures in the public eye, these grants are essentially designed to force them into practicing wealth redistribution, Herrick says. (heartland.org)
Adventures in Public Health Part 1: Destination, India! (cdc.gov)
We're pleased to have with us Ms. Erica Tindall, who is a public health analyst with Northrop Grumman, supporting CDC's COVID-19 response, Dr. Febe Wallace, who's the director of primary care at Cherokee Health Systems, Dr. (cdc.gov)

The Washington Post reported that as many as a third of health plan enrollments through the website may have errors that result in people not getting the insurance they expect come January. (nextgov.com)
This deliberate over-pricing of certain drugs to deter people with chronic conditions from buying a health plan is called "adverse tiering" and it violates the ban against discriminating against pre-existing conditions. (hepb.org)
and that Medicare is the most awesome health plan evah . (blogspot.com)

Our insurer is now telling our young adult son, a Crohn's patient (Crohn's is not yet a curable disease), who has been in remission since he began taking Remicade over 11 years ago to switch to a biosimilar drug that offers no guarantees or even promises that he will remain stable in remission. (kevinmd.com)
Once you're able to identify a disparity, you can create programs or policies that may help eliminate that disparity, and can actually save the insurer money by getting care to a disparate patient sooner," said Duane Reynolds, president of Chartis Just Health Collective, an equity-focused division of healthcare advisory firm Chartis Group. (modernhealthcare.com)
In those reports, insurers submitted two sets of provider lists, one used during the year to measure patient access and the other a year-end tally. (californiahealthline.org)
Indeed, many community pathologists regard the autopsy, once an important part of the educational, patient care, and quality assurance missions of a hospital pathology department, as an unexpected and irritating interruption from their busy routine. (medscape.com)
If you're a patient, please refer your questions to your healthcare provider. (cdc.gov)
Compared with individual care, group visits have the potential to improve patient experience, health outcomes, and costs for a diversity of health conditions. (bvsalud.org)

the requests are posted on a federal Web site, healthcare.gov, along with regulators' evaluations. (healthcare-now.org)
Some insurance companies, pushed by federal regulators and accrediting bodies, say they can play a role in addressing health inequity by targeting outreach and resources to consumers who need support. (modernhealthcare.com)

Overall, the legislation takes an important step in getting more people covered but it is off base in bringing [health care] costs under control. (cnn.com)
Unlike suing a doctor for malpractice, the insurers all hide behind a series of ERISA cloaks and defenses, and they pretend, and the courts go along with their argument that the insurers are not practicing medicine, just saving costs. (kevinmd.com)
The double-digit requests in some states are being made despite evidence that overall health care costs appear to have slowed in recent years, increasing in the single digits annually as many people put off treatment because of the weak economy. (healthcare-now.org)
Health care in the U.S. leaves too many people out, costs too much and doesn't meet acceptable standards of quality. (citizen.org)
The House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing titled, "Strengthening health care system: legislation to lower costs and expand access. (canceradvocacy.org)
Trying to pull back the veil on health care costs to encourage competition, the Trump administration on Thursday finalized a requirement for insurers to tell consumers up front the actual prices for common tests and procedures. (necn.com)
Group care models may contribute to quality improvements, better health outcomes, and lower costs for select health conditions. (bvsalud.org)

Interested in helping insurers compete? (smithhanley.com)

Improving Health After Treatment: The U.S. health care system must adapt to the needs of cancer survivors. (canceradvocacy.org)

It's the latest regulatory action from Washington to implement the No Surprises Act passed last year, which prohibits surprise out-of-network billing beginning next year, among other healthcare consumer protections. (healthcaredive.com)

This paper examines features of the CHW-client relationship that perinatal women with chronic conditions reported as being beneficial for their experience of prenatal care and pregnancy. (bvsalud.org)

Health insurers have been starting venture-capital arms to find new ideas to improve their business and generate financial returns. (smithhanley.com)

In other states, like Florida and Ohio, insurers have been able to raise rates by at least 20 percent for some policy holders. (healthcare-now.org)
Without legislative action, the state can only question the basis for the high rates, sometimes resulting in the insurer withdrawing or modifying the proposed rate increase. (healthcare-now.org)
FTCR said that the key to health care affordability is to require drug companies and health insurers to charge fair rates. (consumerwatchdog.org)
We also examine insurer participation in rural areas, in particular, which have historically had low rates of insurer competition. (kff.org)

In order to bring you the latest cancer-related health care policy and news, we at NCCS combined our ACA Updates and What Caught Our Eye (WCOE) content into a weekly email and blog post. (canceradvocacy.org)
Capitol Desk delivers the latest in health care policy and politics from Sacramento and around the state. (californiahealthline.org)
The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news. (kff.org)

LaPlante says the premium limits will move the health care system in the wrong direction. (heartland.org)

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