Health Insurance News and Research

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Health insurance gets costlier

According to the latest survey, premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance continued to escalate this year even as the share of workers getting less generous coverage reached a new high.

28 Sep 2011

Perry, Romney continue in GOP primary spotlight

News outlets report on the ongoing sparring between the two candidates and on Perry's health policy record as Texas governor. Meanwhile, Michele Bachmann points to her rivals' positions on issues including health care and says Republicans should not settle for a moderate candidate. Also, NPR flashes back to GOP candidate Herman Cain's 1994 debate performance. And, on the other side of the political spectrum, The Associated Press reports that Democrats are shifting their campaign message away from the health law and toward Medicare.

28 Sep 2011

Wis. unveils Medicaid savings website; some low-income Minn. residents must change health plans

Also in Medicaid news, Washington state begins new program that limits emergency department visits for Medicaid enrolless. Oregon also reports gains in efforts to get children coverage.

28 Sep 2011

Justice Department does not seek full appeals court review clearing path for high court to decide health law's constitutionality next summer

The Obama administration announced Monday that it won't press for an en banc appeal to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Such an action would have delayed the legal process and likely pushed back the timing of a final Supreme Court decision until at least 2013.

28 Sep 2011

Roundup: Conn.'s new insurance commissioner getting noticed; Miami-Dade County fires consulting firm over health care issue

Checking his watch, Thomas B. Leonardi worked quickly through his dense defense of this nation's state-by-state approach to insurance regulation. This small New England state generates more insurance business than all but a half-dozen nations. He sided with consumer advocates in March at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, helping to delay a federal regulation designed to protect fees for health insurance brokers. Advocates said the regulation would have driven up the costs of insurance to consumers.

28 Sep 2011

Healthcare becoming an overdrive model feel half of the primary physicians

In a new poll of primary care physicians, nearly half of them said their patients received too much medical care and more than a quarter said they were practicing more aggressively than they'd like to. This could mean ordering more tests, prescribing more drugs or diagnosing people with diseases, although they would never have experienced any symptoms. On the other hand, just six percent of doctors believed their patients were getting too little care.

27 Sep 2011

Obama administration decision could impact timing of Supreme Court ruling

The Justice Department must decide today whether to ask the full U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider a 2-1 August decision declaring unconstitutional the health law's individual mandate. If it does seek the full court's review, which could take weeks or months, it will likely push back a Supreme Court ruling until 2013.

27 Sep 2011

Viewpoints: LA Times wants solutions from GOP candidates; WSJ finds worrisome census numbers

We've now seen three full-dress debates among the Republican politicians who want to be the next president of the United States, and here's what we've learned: They all believe taxes are too high, even though federal taxes are lower as a percentage of the U.S. economy than any time in the last 60 years. They all believe onerous environmental regulations are preventing economic recovery, though few economists would agree.

27 Sep 2011

Roundup: Patient dies after medical error during Calif. nurses strike; grocery workers ratify contract that had partially hinged on health care

Veteran nurses locked out of Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland said Sunday that the death of a patient due to a medical error by a replacement worker wouldn't have happened if they had been allowed to do their jobs. The hospital's management countered that it was a freak accident that could have happened at any time -- with or without the replacement nurses. At the center of the dispute is a cancer patient, a woman who has not been identified but whose tragic death on Saturday has inflamed an already tense labor dispute.

27 Sep 2011

First Edition: September 26, 2011

In today's headlines, KHN kicks off a three-day series, "The Big Money World Of Kid's Care."

26 Sep 2011

Primatene inhalers to be phased out this December: FDA

According to the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), the Armstrong Pharmaceutical's Primatene mist inhaler will be discontinued on Dec. 31, and prescription inhalers are the only alternative to the over-the-counter asthma drug.

26 Sep 2011

Roundup: Texas House Dems ask CMS to reject Medicaid waiver request; Jobs lost as Ariz. mental health Medicaid cuts kick in

The nine House Democrats from Texas want the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to reject their state's request that Medicaid beneficiaries get their prescription drugs through managed care plans.

23 Sep 2011

Humana to acquire California-based Medicare Advantage HMO

Humana Inc. announced today that it has signed an agreement to acquire MD Care, a California-based Medicare Advantage HMO with approximately 15,000 members in Southern California.

23 Sep 2011

Health law legal action moves to D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals

Politico Pro reports that, although this case is unlikely to be the "one" that goes to the Supreme Court, both sides have a lot at stake in the outcome: "the potential to chalk up another appeals court victory and maybe 'flip' a prominent appeals judge."

23 Sep 2011

Capital BlueCross goes live with TriZetto's care management application

The TriZetto Group, Inc. today announced that Capital BlueCross, the leading health insurer in central Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley, recently went live with TriZetto's Clinical CareAdvance® 4.61 care management application.

23 Sep 2011

Consumer groups were among winners when HHS awarded insurance rate review grants

HHS this week awarded $109 million to states to strengthen the review process for proposed increases in health insurance premiums. Politico reports that some of the funding also went to consumer advocacy groups that often take on insurers. Meanwhile, California Healthline details what funding its home state secured.

23 Sep 2011

CLASS Act future in doubt

The health law's long-term care program, which has faced concerns about its fiscal sustainability, appears at risk following reports that the HHS office overseeing it faces a key staff reduction.

23 Sep 2011

State, private exchange developments attract attention

In Oregon, the Senate confirmed Governor John Kitzhaber's recommendations for the Oregon Insurance Exchange Board. On the private side, Bloom Health, a Minneapolis startup, is continuing its efforts to create a national health insurance exchange.

23 Sep 2011

AARP launches ad campaign urging debt panel to steer clear of Medicare

According to the national ad campaign's script, which urges the deficit panel to take Medicare cuts off the table, Social Security payments have been earned by a lifetime of work and Medicare, the health insurance plan for seniors, is paid for by participants.

23 Sep 2011

Young adults take advantage of health law, make gains in health coverage

New data indicate as many as a million young adults have signed up for health insurance in the last year, offering evidence that this 2010 health law benefit is proving to be popular.

23 Sep 2011