Health Insurance News and Research

RSS

Pelosi chooses compromise approach to public option in reform bill

A health care reform bill set to be unveiled this morning will include a government-run public option for health insurance that will negotiate rates with insurers, much like private insurers operate.

29 Oct 2009

Health bills limit out-of-pocket costs, but there's a catch in the fine print

Health care bills pending in Congress could limit the out-of-pocket costs for consumers, but some of the fine print may cause sticker shock. "Consumers would be spared having to pay huge medical bills under Democratic health care legislation that's moving through Congress, as lawmakers agree on the need to put limits on how much people would pay out of their own pockets," McClatchy reports.

29 Oct 2009

Study looks at the impact of health insurance on the number of preventable deaths in the U.S.

Lack of health insurance might have led or contributed to nearly 17,000 deaths among hospitalized children in the United States in the span of less than two decades, according to research led by the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

29 Oct 2009

First Edition: October 29, 2009

Today's headlines are all about the unveiling of the House health bill -- expected later this morning.

29 Oct 2009

Centene takes proactive approach to prevent influenza virus through its Fluvention program

Centene Corporation takes a proactive approach with education around how to prevent the influenza virus each year through its FluventionTM program.

29 Oct 2009

Aetna operating earnings decrease by 38% in third-quarter 2009

Aetna today announced third-quarter 2009 operating earnings of $308.2 million, or $.69 per share, a 38 percent decrease from the prior-year quarter. Operating earnings exclude net realized capital gains (losses) and other items. The decrease in operating earnings per share from the prior-year quarter reflects a lower Commercial underwriting margin and a previously announced increase in pension expense partially offset by the impact of a lower number of shares outstanding year-over-year.

29 Oct 2009

Initiative to help families face the challenges of parental depression and early childhood developmental delays

A Pittsburgh-based maternal and child health care collaborative will undertake a unique and innovative initiative to help families face the challenges of parental depression and early childhood developmental delays.

29 Oct 2009

Residents can serve a vital role in promoting CT colonography awareness

Residents can serve a vital role in educating Congress, the medical community, and the general public regarding the efficacy of cutting-edge technologies like CT colonography (CTC) as well as the importance of radiologists' training and education and the role that radiologists serve in the provision of quality health care, according to an article published in the November issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology (JACR).

29 Oct 2009

Bankruptcy Rescue to offer free Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing services for breast cancer victims

Attorney Barton W. Morris, Jr., founder of Bankruptcy Rescue, announced today his team of bankruptcy lawyers will select one local family touched by breast cancer and facing financial crisis, to receive free Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing services from essays submitted online at www.mybankruptcyrescue.com/breastcancer before November 30, 2009.

29 Oct 2009

Study on quality of health care for US-born Latinos and undocumented Latinos

Where Latinos are born and their immigration status affect the quality of health care they receive in the US, according to Professor Michael Rodr-guez and colleagues from the UCLA Department of Family Medicine and the Network for Multicultural Research on Health and Healthcare based in Los Angeles, California.

29 Oct 2009

Open enrollment for seniors to select healthcare coverage for 2010 to begin in November

Open enrollment, the six-week period during which seniors can select healthcare coverage for 2010, begins Nov. 15. Health plans have begun sharing their costs and coverage, but making a choice can be a daunting task.

29 Oct 2009

Survey of Connecticut physicians shows disparities in health care

Connecticut physicians believe they could be providing better care to patients of diverse racial, cultural and ethnic backgrounds if they had training that was more accessible, according to the results of a survey released today by the Connecticut State Medical Society.

29 Oct 2009

KidzPartners health insurance program for teens and children

Health Partners announced today that it is offering comprehensive health insurance through the state Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). CHIP, brought to you by Health Partners' newest program, KidzPartners, has already begun enrolling members in Philadelphia County and will expand to surrounding counties in the future.

29 Oct 2009

Berkeley HeartLab enters into collaborative agreement

Berkeley HeartLab (BHL), a subsidiary of Celera Corporation, announced today that it has entered into collaborative agreements with Geisinger Medical Center and Proven Diagnostics, a clinical laboratory service recently launched by Geisinger Health System.

29 Oct 2009

Ceos criticize public plan as lawmakers finalize bills

Several CEOs at large U.S. companies criticized the public insurance option as Congressional Democrats push to figure out which version should be included in their version of health reform legislation.

28 Oct 2009

Health Connector announces the expansion of existing relationship with Perot Systems

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Health Insurance Connector Authority (Health Connector) and Perot Systems Corporation (NYSE: PER) (www.perotsystems.com) today announced an expansion of their existing relationship in which Perot Systems will use its Xcelys health plan administration software solution to provide additional premium billing and enrollment services to the state health insurance program.

28 Oct 2009

Is an individual mandate constitutional? Legal scholars are divided

Some legal scholars are questioning the constitutionality of a proposed mandate that would require most Americans to carry health insurance or pay a tax penalty, The Washington Times reports. This would be the first time that Congress has "required citizens to purchase any good or service." The argument against the constitutionality of such a provision "strikes at a pivotal part of the health care plan's finances."

28 Oct 2009

Lawmakers struggle with how age should influence insurance premiums

Age issues emerge in the health care reform debate as lawmakers struggle with how much young and old people should pay for insurance. Meanwhile, lawmakers and different groups try to woo seniors.

28 Oct 2009

Obama seeks health reform support from small businesses

Roll Call: "The White House is aggressively courting the small-business community, believing that some on GOP-friendly Main Street can be enlisted in the fight for health care reform and that assistance to mom-and-pop shops is vital to chipping away at the unemployment rate. ... White House officials were on the phone to the [U.S. Chamber of Commerce] and the GOP-leaning National Federation of Independent Business on Friday asking them to provide a group of small-business owners for Obama to talk with at the White House on Thursday."

28 Oct 2009