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HCCMIS adds Coventry National Network to enhance health-care provider network

HCC Medical Insurance Services, LLC, a provider of worldwide medical insurance, has enhanced their health-care provider network by adding the Coventry National Network, through First Health.

15 Dec 2012

Research roundup: Workers' insurance costs vary depending on employers' size; Seniors mental health needs often unmet

Survey -- The authors of this analysis provide a detailed look at the availability of health coverage at small and large employers, as well as the variations in plan costs and cost-sharing requirements.

15 Dec 2012

Roundup: Abortion bill heads to Mich. Gov's desk; Calif. health care special session priorities; Nurse practitioner role debated in Minn.

An omnibus abortion bill, approved by the Senate on Wednesday, passed the House early this morning by a 72-35 vote, after a controversial requirement that an aborted fetus be buried, cremated or interred was removed earlier this week. Democrats offered a handful of amendments, some referred to as "what's good for the goose is good for the gander," to require men to undergo physical exams before being prescribed Viagra or to get a vasectomy. But all the amendments were shot down. Gov. Rick Snyder is expected to sign the bill into law.

14 Dec 2012

Viewpoints: Krugman says GOP's attacks on big government don't translate to Medicare; Democrats' must overcome hesitancy to bargain

By all accounts, Republicans have, so far, offered almost no specifics. They claim that they're willing to raise $800 billion in revenue by closing loopholes, but they refuse to specify which loopholes they would close; they are demanding large cuts in spending, but the specific cuts they have been willing to lay out wouldn't come close to delivering the savings they demand. It's a very peculiar situation.

14 Dec 2012

Visual impairment and diabetes increase side by side

Visual impairment that is not explained by refractive error is increasing, as is the prevalence of diabetes – particularly diabetes lasting 10 years or longer, show US study results.

14 Dec 2012

States face Friday deadline on health exchanges

States must decide by Dec. 14 if they are going to operate their own health care marketplaces, or if they will defer to the federal government. They have until mid-February to decide whether to partner with the federal government or let the feds do it all. Meanwhile, polls in Missouri and Tennessee show public support for state-run markets.

14 Dec 2012

U.N. General Assembly votes in favor of draft resolution supporting universal health coverage

The U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday "voted in favor of a draft resolution supporting universal health coverage, signaling the importance of universal health care to the international development agenda," the Washington Post's "World Views" blog reports.

14 Dec 2012

Aetna CEO predicts some 'premium rate shock' because of health law provisions; More Medicare ACOs expected in 2013

In news about the health law, Bloomberg reports that Aetna's Mark Bertolini says premiums for individuals and small businesses could as much as double in 2014 and Modern Healthcare examines what's ahead for the accountable care organizations next year.

13 Dec 2012

Rural residents of Utah less likely to follow colorectal cancer screening recommendations

People who reside in rural areas of Utah are less likely to follow colorectal cancer (CRC) screening recommendations than their urban counterparts, according to researchers from Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah.

13 Dec 2012

Roundup: Mass. a template for controlling health care costs?; Fewer than expected use Minn. health care vouchers; Blue Shield in Calif.'s proposed rate hikes

This simple shift in how health care is paid for -- long seen as key to taming costs -- has been occurring in pockets of the country. But nowhere is it happening more systematically than in Massachusetts, the state that blazed a trail in 2006 by guaranteeing its residents health insurance. Now Massachusetts, a model for President Obama's 2010 national health care law, may offer another template for national leaders looking to control health spending.

13 Dec 2012

Family health insurance costs up 62 percent since 2003

The total cost of family health insurance, for both employers and employees, hit $15,000 last year, up 62 percent since 2003 -- and worker wages rose only 11 percent in that time, a new Commonwealth Fund report says.

13 Dec 2012

States still have time to build exchanges, some experts say

Politico Pro reports that some exchange experts aren't buying the argument that states have too little time to set up insurance markets. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports on the fragmented regulatory landscape that insurers selling products in those new markets will face.

13 Dec 2012

Liberal Democrats pledge to protect Medicaid

Some Democrats argue that cuts to Medicaid, which provides health insurance coverage to low-income Americans, should not be part of the fiscal negotiations.

13 Dec 2012

Average premiums for employer health insurance plans increased 62% between 2003 and 2011

Average premiums for employer-sponsored family health insurance plans rose 62 percent between 2003 and 2011, from $9,249 to $15,022 per year, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report.

13 Dec 2012

The argument for vision insurance

Individuals with vision insurance are more likely than those without it to have had recent eye care visits, and to have no difficulty reading printed matter or recognizing their friends from across the street, report US researchers.

12 Dec 2012

Six states get an early greenlight on health exchanges from HHS

The Obama administration also gave conditional approval on Monday to six states -- all led by Democratic governors -- that were the first to meet the health law's rules for setting up health insurance marketplaces.

12 Dec 2012

Low-cost concierge care, social media among changes in practice of medicine

News outlets examine trends such as doctors' use of social media to explore medical information and the growth of relatively low-cost concierge medicine, where patients may pay $50 a month for unlimited doctors' visits and calls.

12 Dec 2012

Capsules: A day of stark state differences on health exchanges; Eye experts: States should make vision care an exchange benefit

Now on Kaiser Health News' blog, Colorado Public Radio's Eric Whitney and News Service of Florida's Jim Saunders, working in collaboration with KHN and NPR, offered updates regarding their respective state's action on health exchanges: "Friday is the deadline for states to decide if they want to build and operate their own exchanges or have the federal government do it.

12 Dec 2012

Viewpoints: Sen. Portman's Rx for deficit talks; Gerson says Obama needs to give Boehner political cover to make a deal

Washington needs to pursue structural reforms in the country's important but unsustainable entitlement programs and in an inefficient, outdated tax code. By doing so, lawmakers can responsibly avoid the immediate cliff while addressing the long-term fiscal crisis and spurring job creation.

12 Dec 2012

Roundup: NH hospital at center of hepatitis outbreak details fixes; Report finds racial gap in Colo. dental coverage; Health cuts part of Conn. budget plan

Though Exeter Hospital has fixed problems discovered after a hepatitis C outbreak last spring, federal officials say the hospital initially failed to conduct an adequate investigation. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said last week it no longer plans to terminate the hospital's Medicare funding now that multiple issues raised by inspectors have been addressed.

11 Dec 2012

Health Insurance News and Research

HCCMIS adds Coventry National Network to enhance health-care provider network

Research roundup: Workers' insurance costs vary depending on employers' size; Seniors mental health needs often unmet

Roundup: Abortion bill heads to Mich. Gov's desk; Calif. health care special session priorities; Nurse practitioner role debated in Minn.

Viewpoints: Krugman says GOP's attacks on big government don't translate to Medicare; Democrats' must overcome hesitancy to bargain

Visual impairment and diabetes increase side by side

States face Friday deadline on health exchanges

U.N. General Assembly votes in favor of draft resolution supporting universal health coverage

Aetna CEO predicts some 'premium rate shock' because of health law provisions; More Medicare ACOs expected in 2013

Rural residents of Utah less likely to follow colorectal cancer screening recommendations

Roundup: Mass. a template for controlling health care costs?; Fewer than expected use Minn. health care vouchers; Blue Shield in Calif.'s proposed rate hikes

Family health insurance costs up 62 percent since 2003

States still have time to build exchanges, some experts say

Liberal Democrats pledge to protect Medicaid

Average premiums for employer health insurance plans increased 62% between 2003 and 2011

The argument for vision insurance

Six states get an early greenlight on health exchanges from HHS

Low-cost concierge care, social media among changes in practice of medicine

Capsules: A day of stark state differences on health exchanges; Eye experts: States should make vision care an exchange benefit

Viewpoints: Sen. Portman's Rx for deficit talks; Gerson says Obama needs to give Boehner political cover to make a deal

Roundup: NH hospital at center of hepatitis outbreak details fixes; Report finds racial gap in Colo. dental coverage; Health cuts part of Conn. budget plan

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