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HHS offers waivers as firms, insurers threaten to abandon markets

The Obama administration has granted "dozens" of waivers that will allow insurers and companies - most notably McDonald's - to continue offering health benefits that do not meet new health law requirements in an effort "to stave off threats by some health insurers to abandon markets, drop out of the business altogether or refuse to sell certain policies," The New York Times reports.

8 Oct 2010

Doctors say practices disrupted by piecemeal Medicare payment fixes

Doctor groups are warning congressional leaders that a series of short-term measures lawmakers passed earlier this year to block Medicare payment cuts were too disruptive to medical practices," CQ HealthBeat reports.

8 Oct 2010

First Edition: October 7, 2010

Today's headlines include stories on waivers given some companies that offer only minimal health insurance coverage, insurers' political efforts during this campaign season and efforts in New York to bar the use of food stamps to buy soda.

7 Oct 2010

AstraZeneca provides free medicines to patients at Primary Care Center Pharmacy in Sacramento

AstraZeneca announced today that it is providing medicines at no cost to qualifying patients at the Primary Care Center Pharmacy in Sacramento, California.

7 Oct 2010

Sudden cardiac arrest survivors to gather at SCAA Annual Meeting

A nationwide gathering of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) survivors, emergency responders and civilian rescuers will mark SCA Awareness Month with a Survivors & Heroes Celebration on Friday, October 8 at 6:00 p.m. at the Marriott City Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

7 Oct 2010

U.S. continues to lag behind other nations in life expectancy

The United States continues to lag behind other nations when it comes to gains in life expectancy, and commonly cited causes for our poor performance-obesity, smoking, traffic fatalities, and homicide-are not to blame, according to a Commonwealth Fund-supported study published today as a Health Affairs Web First.

7 Oct 2010

American Cancer Society awards 94 national research, training grants to 70 institutions nationwide

The American Cancer Society, the largest non-government, not-for-profit funding source of cancer research in the United States, has awarded 94 national research and training grants totaling $46,633,000 to 70 institutions nationwide in the first of two grants cycles for 2011.

7 Oct 2010

Feds agree to waive minimum health insurance requirement for 30 companies while 3 GOP congressmen begin probe of health law costs

The federal government has issued a waiver for 30 companies so that they do not have to abide by a provision of the new federal health law that would have required the companies to provide a minimum of $750,000 in health insurance coverage for covered employees, Bloomberg reports.

7 Oct 2010

3.5 million Calif. residents eligible for tax credits in future exchange; N.Y. prescription drug aid for seniors cut back; Idaho trims dental providers in Medicaid

An estimated 3.5 million Californians would be eligible for federal tax credits to slash the cost of their health coverage when they begin buying policies through a new statewide insurance marketplace in 2014, a study released Tuesday found.

7 Oct 2010

Today's Opeds: Mini-meds, Ariz.'s anti-health mandate and are premium refunds a bad thing?

With each new disruption come loud claims some from insurance executives that the health overhaul is damaging American health care. But when you dig a little deeper, you often discover the same lesson that the McDonald's case provides the real problem was the status quo.

7 Oct 2010

Group Health gets $2 million to study value-based insurance

The effectiveness of Total Health, a unique benefits program for Group Health Cooperative employees, is the subject of a four-year study that the federal Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ) recently funded. It's part of a trend to integrate care, insurance, and wellness programs and base them on research findings. The goal is to help people stay healthier and control health care costs.

6 Oct 2010

NBF's Brilliance in Bipolar Initiative receives Congressman Kennedy's endorsement

Congressman Patrick Kennedy, a long-time advocate for people living with mental illness, and Marc Kullman, co-founder of the National Bipolar Foundation, joined efforts to help reduce the stigma associated with bipolar disorder. The Brilliance in Bipolar Initiative is a national and collaborative effort to draw attention to and develop a better understanding of bipolar disorder.

6 Oct 2010

First Edition: October 6, 2010

Today's headlines include reports about the early legal tests facing the new health law and more on the politics swirling around the measure's sweeping reforms.

6 Oct 2010

FEHBP premium costs to increase next year, just not as much as this year

The Washington Post reports that the price federal employees pay for health insurance next year won't go up as much as it did this year, but that the 7.2 percent increase for 2011 is "much greater than inflation or any pay increase or cost of living adjustment they might get."

6 Oct 2010

Ohio study finds 13% of parents with insurance skip treatment for kids because of cost

About 13 percent of parents with health insurance say they haven't gotten pediatrician-recommended care for their children due to costs, a new survey in Ohio finds.

6 Oct 2010

Mass. hospital sale talks seeking to protect employee retirement plans; Conn. Gov. ask for waiver in preexisting insurance plan

Representatives of Caritas Christi Health Care, the private equity firm seeking to buy it, and the attorney general's office are working on a tentative agreement to protect the retirement plans of 13,000 employees and keep the chain's hospitals open for at least five years.

6 Oct 2010

Democrats gain in polling, but health care helps GOP hold 'enthusiasm' edge

Democrats are gaining ground in campaign polling, but Republicans still hold a lead, buoyed in part by their stance on health care as the November midterm elections near.

6 Oct 2010

HHS adds 1,000 companies to early retiree benefit program

Congress Daily: The federal government added 1,000 companies to the "early retiree benefit program established under the healthcare overhaul law, bringing the total number of companies participating to 3,000. The $5 billion program is a stopgap measure meant to help cover retired Americans over the age of 55 who are not eligible for Medicare."

6 Oct 2010

Today's OpEds: ACOs, Health care honesty and the sanctity of health insurance

This year, some workers might see a new acronym in the alphabet soup of HMOs and PPOs. This one is called ACO, and it might be just the thing our health care system needs (Dr. Paul Grundy, 10/5).

6 Oct 2010

Administaff extends arrangement for medical and dental coverage with UnitedHealthcare

Administaff, Inc., a leading provider of human resources services for small and medium-sized businesses, today announced that it has extended its arrangement for medical and dental coverage with UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group company. This new, three-year arrangement reflects the company's success in moderating the rate of health care cost increases on behalf of its covered worksite employees, as well as a further strengthening of its business relationship with UnitedHealthcare.

5 Oct 2010

Health Insurance News and Research

HHS offers waivers as firms, insurers threaten to abandon markets

Doctors say practices disrupted by piecemeal Medicare payment fixes

First Edition: October 7, 2010

AstraZeneca provides free medicines to patients at Primary Care Center Pharmacy in Sacramento

Sudden cardiac arrest survivors to gather at SCAA Annual Meeting

U.S. continues to lag behind other nations in life expectancy

American Cancer Society awards 94 national research, training grants to 70 institutions nationwide

Feds agree to waive minimum health insurance requirement for 30 companies while 3 GOP congressmen begin probe of health law costs

3.5 million Calif. residents eligible for tax credits in future exchange; N.Y. prescription drug aid for seniors cut back; Idaho trims dental providers in Medicaid

Today's Opeds: Mini-meds, Ariz.'s anti-health mandate and are premium refunds a bad thing?

Group Health gets $2 million to study value-based insurance

NBF's Brilliance in Bipolar Initiative receives Congressman Kennedy's endorsement

First Edition: October 6, 2010

FEHBP premium costs to increase next year, just not as much as this year

Ohio study finds 13% of parents with insurance skip treatment for kids because of cost

Mass. hospital sale talks seeking to protect employee retirement plans; Conn. Gov. ask for waiver in preexisting insurance plan

Democrats gain in polling, but health care helps GOP hold 'enthusiasm' edge

HHS adds 1,000 companies to early retiree benefit program

Today's OpEds: ACOs, Health care honesty and the sanctity of health insurance

Administaff extends arrangement for medical and dental coverage with UnitedHealthcare

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