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Survey: Health exchange shoppers have choices between large and small provider networks

The survey, done by consulting company McKinsey and Co., found the majority of online insurance marketplace customers have options that include both larger, more costly networks and smaller, more affordable ones. In addition, the latest on the SHOP program as well as a report about a new round of grants for navigators.

12 Jun 2014

GOP warns health law change could use taxpayer money to 'bail out' insurers

In the meantime, insurers say they want government money to help people that buy catastrophic plans to keep premiums for them low. Also, the employer mandate comes under further attack and one insurer calls members to manage their health.

11 Jun 2014

First Edition: June 11, 2014

Today's headlines include a range of stories about the upset of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor -- a Virginia primary election shocker -- as well as continuing coverage of health law implementation issues and congressional responses to the VA's health care troubles.

11 Jun 2014

Viewpoints: 'Bureaucratic Ninja' for the VA; Soap Opera in Virginia; hospital readmissions

By pulling out of the running to be the next secretary of Veterans Affairs, Cleveland Clinic head Toby Cosgrove has given the administration a chance to think harder about what the VA needs most right now.

11 Jun 2014

State highlights: Mass. near 0 percent uninsured; Ga. scraps Medicaid contract bidding; states turn to public health issues

When Massachusetts passed its landmark health coverage law under Gov. Mitt Romney in 2006, no one claimed the state would get to zero, as in 0 percent of residents who are uninsured. But numbers out today suggest Massachusetts is very close. Between December 2013 and March of this year, when the federal government was urging people to enroll, the number of Massachusetts residents signed up for health coverage increased by more than 215,000. If that number holds, the percentage of Massachusetts residents who do not have coverage has dropped to less than 1 percent (Bebinger, 6/9).

11 Jun 2014

Virginia budget plan moving forward without Medicaid expansion

After the abrupt resignation of a Democrat switched the state Senate to Republican control, Democrats began negotiating on a spending plan that no longer includes the governor's priority of expanding health care coverage to low-income residents.

11 Jun 2014

Some doctors bill Medicare far more often for unusual procedures

Elsewhere, a former editor of a prominent medical journal says many or most doctors have had conflicts of interest that could harm patients. And, doctors look for new ways to thrive -- or survive -- economically.

11 Jun 2014

First Edition: June 10, 2014

Today's headlines include details of an extensive, nationwide audit of the wait times for care at VA hospitals and clinics.

10 Jun 2014

Viewpoints: 'Triage' at the VA; GOP can't 'fix' health law; mental health problems in LA jail

Washington's attention span on the Veterans Affairs scandal seems to be expiring. Though 42 of the VA's 152 major campuses (27%) are still under investigation for falsifying wait-time records, the Senate is converging on a bipartisan deal that claims to solve the problem.

10 Jun 2014

Aetna partners with Fresenius Medical Care to improve lives of people with end stage renal disease

Fresenius Medical Care announced today a collaborative care model designed to improve the quality of care for Aetna's Medicare Advantage members who have end stage renal disease, while lowering health care costs.

10 Jun 2014

Is HealthCare.gov floating toward the cloud?

The Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon.com Inc.'s cloud is picking up steam in the Obama administration's attempt to revamp the federal online insurance marketplace. Meanwhile, news outlets also report on the latest developments regarding exchanges in Colorado and New Hampshire.

10 Jun 2014

State highlights: Improving chronic care in Las Vegas; standoff over Medicaid in N.C.

Now, Las Vegas is emerging as a test of how much a community can improve chronically poor health by expanding insurance coverage and using models of medical care pioneered in healthier places. "We are a prime example of what people see as problematic about the American healthcare system," said Larry Matheis, the former longtime head of the Nevada State Medical Assn. "That makes a lot of the ideas in health reform very attractive. … The challenge is going to be figuring out how to make it all work" (Levey, 6/7).

10 Jun 2014

VA to probe deaths of 18 veterans to see if delay in care played a role

Acting Secretary Sloan Gibson announces 18 more veterans kept off an appointment list have died. The department is expected to release more details Monday as officials appear before Congress.

10 Jun 2014

Enrollees' personal information may be compromised as a result of access health CT data breach

The Connecticut health insurance exchange data breach has been traced back to an employee of the company that runs the call center.

10 Jun 2014

Insurers propose rate hikes for plans on the individual market

News reports detail the latest on insurers' efforts in Maryland and Connecticut to gain approval for increases in 2015 premiums on the state exchanges.

10 Jun 2014

Politics continue to swirl around state Medicaid expansion debates

A group of Democratic senators have written a letter to Republican governors in states such as South Dakota, Wyoming, Wisconsin and Nebraska urging that they set politics aside and pursue the health law's expansion of the state-federal low-income insurance program. Meanwhile, the issue is also front and center in primary elections.

9 Jun 2014

Antiviral therapy may prevent hepatitis B virus from developing into hepatocellular carcinoma

Researchers have found that antiviral therapy may be successful in preventing hepatitis B virus from developing into the most common form of liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

9 Jun 2014

Hospital shifting away from billing for individual services

Bundled payments may be the "wave of the future," the Wall Street Journal suggests. Meanwhile, health care providers are working to get patients more involved in decisions about their care.

9 Jun 2014

Centene enters into transaction with Community Health Solutions of America

Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) ("Centene") announced today that it has entered into a transaction whereby Community Health Solutions of America, Inc. ("CHS") will assign its contract with the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals ("DHH") under the Bayou Health Shared Savings Program to Centene's wholly owned subsidiary, Louisiana Healthcare Connections, Inc. ("LHCC").

9 Jun 2014

Sequenom signs national agreement to provide MaterniT21 PLUS LDT

Sequenom, Inc., a life sciences company providing innovative testing and genetic analysis solutions, announced today its wholly owned subsidiary, Sequenom Laboratories, has signed a national agreement with a leading health insurance company covering 13 million people throughout the United States, to provide the MaterniT21™ PLUS laboratory-developed test (LDT).

9 Jun 2014

Health Insurance News and Research

Survey: Health exchange shoppers have choices between large and small provider networks

GOP warns health law change could use taxpayer money to 'bail out' insurers

First Edition: June 11, 2014

Viewpoints: 'Bureaucratic Ninja' for the VA; Soap Opera in Virginia; hospital readmissions

State highlights: Mass. near 0 percent uninsured; Ga. scraps Medicaid contract bidding; states turn to public health issues

Virginia budget plan moving forward without Medicaid expansion

Some doctors bill Medicare far more often for unusual procedures

First Edition: June 10, 2014

Viewpoints: 'Triage' at the VA; GOP can't 'fix' health law; mental health problems in LA jail

Aetna partners with Fresenius Medical Care to improve lives of people with end stage renal disease

Is HealthCare.gov floating toward the cloud?

State highlights: Improving chronic care in Las Vegas; standoff over Medicaid in N.C.

VA to probe deaths of 18 veterans to see if delay in care played a role

Enrollees' personal information may be compromised as a result of access health CT data breach

Insurers propose rate hikes for plans on the individual market

Politics continue to swirl around state Medicaid expansion debates

Antiviral therapy may prevent hepatitis B virus from developing into hepatocellular carcinoma

Hospital shifting away from billing for individual services

Centene enters into transaction with Community Health Solutions of America

Sequenom signs national agreement to provide MaterniT21 PLUS LDT

Industry Focus eBook - Forensics & toxicology (2nd edition) eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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