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News outlets examine what you should know about new health law provisions

USA Today, on how the new health law has started helping consumers: "Provisions of the health care reform law that took effect Sept. 23 prohibit some of the industry's most controversial practices." Insurers must now cover children with pre-existing conditions and cover preventive care for everyone.

29 Sep 2010

Study: Employees will pay more for health insurance in 2011

Companies' health costs will rise about 9 percent on average next year as a result of the aging workforce, growing medical costs and health law-related changes, and employees can expect to pick up an ever-growing share, the Los Angeles Times reports. Human resources consultant Hewitt's survey of 350 medium to large firms found companies "will spend $9,821 per employee on average for insurance next year, up from $9,028 this year — an 8.8% increase and more than double what they paid in 2001."

29 Sep 2010

Medicare Advantage plans draw attention

The Boston Globe: "Harvard Pilgrim Health Care has notified customers that it will drop its Medicare Advantage health insurance program at the end of the year, forcing 22,000 senior citizens in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine to seek alternative supplemental coverage." The reason is that federal reimbursements for such plans have been frozen, and Harvard's particular Advantage product, a private fee-for-service plan, would have to develop a network of contracted providers for the first time under the new rules (Weisman, 9/28).

29 Sep 2010

Study finds that 90% of EDs nationwide also offer preventive-care services

People go to emergency departments when they've broken a leg, been stabbed or otherwise need urgent care. But a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine finds that 90 percent of EDs nationwide also offer preventive-care services.

28 Sep 2010

Americans' confidence in healthcare ability increases: Thomson Reuters

Americans' confidence in their ability to access and pay for healthcare rose in August, reversing a more pessimistic outlook that had prevailed all year, according to a consumer sentiment index produced by Thomson Reuters.

28 Sep 2010

Many health plans offer only limited coverage - if at all - for alternative therapies

"Most individuals with private insurance have little, if any, coverage for alternative medicine." People with "employer-based insurance often have some coverage," but it is typically limited to only certain treatments "and comes with more stipulations — like higher deductibles and preauthorization — than traditional care.

28 Sep 2010

State Roundup: N.Y. small businesses protest health insurance premium hikes; Arizona Medicaid crisis; a new payment system for Massachusetts?

Massachusetts officials are reviving the state's ambitious plan to change how doctors and hospitals are paid, aiming to hand the Legislature a specific proposal by Jan. 1 to end disagreement over controlling health spending.

28 Sep 2010

Report: Workers' medical costs projected to jump next year by more than 12 percent

Health care bills for an average employee are slated to climb more than $486 next year, a 12.4 percent increase from this year, according to a study by Hewitt Associates.

28 Sep 2010

HHS pumps up rhetoric but eases rules on health insurance for kids

Politico reports that the administration "is taking health insurers to task again, this time for choosing to no longer sell plans intended to cover sick children." Insurers "have said in recent weeks that they would stop selling 'child only' insurance plans because the overhaul requires them to accept all applicants, even if they apply for coverage at the last minute before treatment." In a letter to industry groups, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius highlighted the "plight of millions of parents who desperately want to provide health coverage and critical treatments" in the face of insurer decisions.

28 Sep 2010

Survey: 43% of employees think health benefits are more important than higher wages

Forty-three percent of employees think health benefits are more important than higher wages, according to the recent "Getting Paid In America" survey conducted by the American Payroll Association.

28 Sep 2010

Doctors face more unpaid bills during recession; Maine MDs rebel against AMA

Some patients, struggling in the bad economy, aren't paying their doctors. "The problems are especially acute for primary care doctors, but specialists are not immune," the Pittsburgh Business Times reports.

28 Sep 2010

AP poll: Americans who think health law should do more outnumber those who think government should stay out of it

As Republicans seek to use the health law as a major talking point to help them win more seats in Congress, a "new AP poll finds that Americans who think the law should have done more outnumber those who think the government should stay out of health care by 2-to-1." The poll found four in 10 adults think the law didn't go far enough to change the system "regardless of whether they support the law, oppose it or remain neutral. On the other side, about one in five say they oppose the law because they think the federal government should not be involved in health care at all."

28 Sep 2010

Insurer’s reaction to kids’ coverage protections continues to unwind

Insurers are fleeing the market for children only health plans because of a new requirement that forces them to take on new policy holders, even if they are already sick.

27 Sep 2010

College health plans sidestep new health law regulation

The Wall Street Journal explores college health plans and notes that as the health overhaul has progressed they "have managed to sidestep, at least for now, the regulatory clampdown that has sent hospitals, insurers and corporations scrambling.

27 Sep 2010

Politics and health care: Poll finds 'many' want more government as money pours into some campaigns

A new AP poll finds that Americans who think the law should have done more outnumber those who think the government should stay out of health care by 2-to-1. The poll found that about four in 10 adults think the new law did not go far enough to change the health care system, regardless of whether they support the law, oppose it or remain neutral.

27 Sep 2010

Health law affecting insurers, employers and comparative effectiveness research

Kaiser Health News has a list of eight provisions in the new health law that took effect this week as insurers, businesses and employers sort out what the new changes mean for them.

27 Sep 2010

Insurers irked by latest draft of spending requirements

"One of the most critical aspects of the federal health overhaul for insurers is shaping up as a mixed bag for the industry, as regulators issued draft rules Thursday on how the companies must account for how much they spend directly on patients' medical care," The Wall Street Journal reports. At issue is which expenses count as medical, versus administrative.

24 Sep 2010

Maine receives federal grants to upgrade electronic public health systems, scores of criminals provide home health care in Cal.

The Boston Globe: "Caritas Christi Health Care executives have told union negotiators they will shutter St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Brighton and Carney Hospital in Dorchester if they can't close a deal for the six-hospital chain to be bought by a New York private equity firm. The warning was made during contract talks last week with the Massachusetts Nurses Association, according to two people who attended the meeting.

24 Sep 2010

25% of all Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans

As the annual open enrollment period approaches Medicare Advantage plan enrollment continues to inch upwards, with nearly 11.8 million people enrolled as of August 2010, almost 25% of all Medicare beneficiaries. Despite conservative growth strategies, stricter marketing regulations and legislation which reined in popular Private-Fee-For-Service plans, Medicare Advantage companies are still experiencing single digit growth rates, according to a new report by Mark Farrah Associates, a leading provider of market data and intelligence solutions.

24 Sep 2010

World Heart Federation calls on employers and employees to take responsibility for workplace wellness

Despite the vast majority (91%) of workers believing that it is their employer's responsibility to create a healthy working environment, nearly a third (32%) of employees feels their workplace actually hinders their ability to lead a healthy lifestyle, according to new independent research commissioned by the World Heart Federation and conducted by Opinion Health.

24 Sep 2010

Health Insurance News and Research

News outlets examine what you should know about new health law provisions

Study: Employees will pay more for health insurance in 2011

Medicare Advantage plans draw attention

Study finds that 90% of EDs nationwide also offer preventive-care services

Americans' confidence in healthcare ability increases: Thomson Reuters

Many health plans offer only limited coverage - if at all - for alternative therapies

State Roundup: N.Y. small businesses protest health insurance premium hikes; Arizona Medicaid crisis; a new payment system for Massachusetts?

Report: Workers' medical costs projected to jump next year by more than 12 percent

HHS pumps up rhetoric but eases rules on health insurance for kids

Survey: 43% of employees think health benefits are more important than higher wages

Doctors face more unpaid bills during recession; Maine MDs rebel against AMA

AP poll: Americans who think health law should do more outnumber those who think government should stay out of it

Insurer’s reaction to kids’ coverage protections continues to unwind

College health plans sidestep new health law regulation

Politics and health care: Poll finds 'many' want more government as money pours into some campaigns

Health law affecting insurers, employers and comparative effectiveness research

Insurers irked by latest draft of spending requirements

Maine receives federal grants to upgrade electronic public health systems, scores of criminals provide home health care in Cal.

25% of all Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans

World Heart Federation calls on employers and employees to take responsibility for workplace wellness

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Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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