Health Insurance News and Research

RSS

First Edition: May 14, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about an Obama administration plan to delay Medicaid DSH payment reductions.

14 May 2013

Blue Assistance selects Accenture to help support health insurance assistance services business in Italy

Blue Assistance, a subsidiary of Reale Mutua Assicurazioni Group the largest Italian mutual insurer, has selected Accenture to provide back office and IT services under a multi-year agreement designed to help support and expand its health insurance assistance services business in Italy.

14 May 2013

States officials wrestle with Medicaid expansion and related issues

Sometimes, someone veers from the script. That seemed to be the case last week when [Mississippi] Gov. Phil Bryant said he would try to run Medicaid even if the Legislature failed to pass bills reauthorizing or funding the program (5/12).

14 May 2013

Viewpoints: Obama took risk on budget offer and was slammed by Rep. Ryan; Health law could 'quash' progress on spending

Obama took a risk and proposed a budget containing cuts to entitlements cherished by his party. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, and his cohorts were unmoved; they wouldn't give an inch on new revenue. Simpson and Bowles gave Obama a pat on the back and largely refrained from criticizing Ryan or House Speaker John Boehner, while corporate leaders ducked.

14 May 2013

White House identifies key groups for health exchange enrollment

The Obama administration has identified specific groups of people it would like to focus on as it promotes enrollment in the state health insurance exchanges next year. The administration plans a localized approach to reach 2.7 million healthy people who are 18 to 35 years old and without health insurance, according to information provided by senior administration officials (Ethridge, 5/10).

14 May 2013

Roundup: NYC examines solitary confinement alternatives for mentally ill inmates; Texas lawmakers push to modernize medical practices; N.C. cancer parity bill passes House

New York City will soon change the way mentally ill inmates are disciplined after breaking rules while in jail, creating alternatives to the more traditional approach of solitary confinement used for most inmates (Yee, 5/12).

14 May 2013

Medicaid opinions: Several state leaders come in for heat for not moving toward expansion

Editorials and columnists in several papers around the country pressed officials toward accepting a Medicaid expansion and offered suggestions about implementation. Also, comments continued about a recent study on Medicaid.

14 May 2013

Drug cost disparities, small business worries continue to surround health law's implementation

The Associated Press reports on the emergence of concerns regarding the health law and drug cost disparities. Meanwhile, other news outlets report on how employers continue to have angst about the measure's price tag.

14 May 2013

First Edition: May 13, 2013

Today's headlines include reports that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has been seeking out funds from private sources to support efforts to publicize the health law.

13 May 2013

The president's impassioned health law speech: 'We're going to keep fighting'

President Barack Obama was unusually detailed in his defense of the law, emphasizing the scope of insurance coverage for many Americans.

13 May 2013

Viewpoints: The threat from 'contagion exhaustion;' An economist sees humor in hospital pricing

There has been a flurry of recent attention over two novel infectious agents: the first, a strain of avian influenza virus (H7N9) in China that is causing severe respiratory disease and other serious health complications in people; the second, a coronavirus, first reported last year in the Middle East, that has brought a crop of new infections.

13 May 2013

Highlights: Feds sue Fla. Senate president's former company over Medicare billing practices; Okla. eyes existing Medicaid program to cover more people

Department of Justice is suing the hospice company founded by Florida's Senate president, accusing it of submitting tens of millions of dollars in fraudulent Medicare claims for more than a decade, including while Don Gaetz was vice chairman of the board (5/9).

13 May 2013

Research roundup: Out-of-pocket costs on individual market; Federal spending on mental health care; Underused Medicare benefit

Since many of the people who will gain insurance under the federal health law will likely get such individual plans through the state-based online marketplaces, or exchanges, researchers sought to identify the effects on vulnerable populations, some of whom with incomes above 400 percent of the poverty level and thus will not qualify for Medicaid or receive subsidies.

13 May 2013

Obama to talk health law's benefits for women, families

In an effort to rally public support for the overhaul, President Barack Obama will talk about provisions that benefit women as part of a Mother's Day-themed event.

13 May 2013

Community health centers get $150M to help uninsured enroll in new coverage

The funding is to hire staff, train existing staff and perform outreach and educational activities. The idea is to help consumers sign up for coverage sold through new online insurance marketplaces that are scheduled to open on Oct. 1 under the Affordable Care Act.

13 May 2013

GOP leaders refuse to name candidates for Medicare cost control board

House Speaker John Boehner tells reporters that he and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will not nominate anyone to serve on the Independent Payment Advisory Board.

13 May 2013

Private insurers have cost Medicare almost $300 billion more over the life of the program

A study published online today finds that the private insurance companies that participate in Medicare under the Medicare Advantage program and its predecessors have cost the publicly funded program for the elderly and disabled an extra $282.6 billion since 1985, most of it over the past eight years. In 2012 alone, private insurers were overpaid $34.1 billion.

13 May 2013

Feds offer positive signals about progress on health exchanges

USA Today reports that federal officials say the government is meeting deadlines, testing systems and putting the infrastructure in place to get these online insurance marketplaces up and running. Also, Modern Healthcare reports that the National Association of Health Underwriters is urging extensive training for the exchange navigators.

13 May 2013

Research reports adolescents, young adults with cancer may be at higher risk for social isolation

Research conducted by Xiao-Cheng Wu, MD, PhD, Associate Professor and Director of the Louisiana Tumor Registry at the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Public Health, and colleagues, reports adolescents and young adults with cancer may be at higher risk for social isolation and that a substantial proportion of them have unmet social needs that could adversely affect their health.

10 May 2013

First Edition: May 10, 2013

Todya's headlines include reports about efforts by the Obama administration to boost health exchange enrollment.

10 May 2013

Health Insurance News and Research

First Edition: May 14, 2013

Blue Assistance selects Accenture to help support health insurance assistance services business in Italy

States officials wrestle with Medicaid expansion and related issues

Viewpoints: Obama took risk on budget offer and was slammed by Rep. Ryan; Health law could 'quash' progress on spending

White House identifies key groups for health exchange enrollment

Roundup: NYC examines solitary confinement alternatives for mentally ill inmates; Texas lawmakers push to modernize medical practices; N.C. cancer parity bill passes House

Medicaid opinions: Several state leaders come in for heat for not moving toward expansion

Drug cost disparities, small business worries continue to surround health law's implementation

First Edition: May 13, 2013

The president's impassioned health law speech: 'We're going to keep fighting'

Viewpoints: The threat from 'contagion exhaustion;' An economist sees humor in hospital pricing

Highlights: Feds sue Fla. Senate president's former company over Medicare billing practices; Okla. eyes existing Medicaid program to cover more people

Research roundup: Out-of-pocket costs on individual market; Federal spending on mental health care; Underused Medicare benefit

Obama to talk health law's benefits for women, families

Community health centers get $150M to help uninsured enroll in new coverage

GOP leaders refuse to name candidates for Medicare cost control board

Private insurers have cost Medicare almost $300 billion more over the life of the program

Feds offer positive signals about progress on health exchanges

Research reports adolescents, young adults with cancer may be at higher risk for social isolation

First Edition: May 10, 2013

Industry Focus eBook - Analytical Chemistry (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

Latest News