Obama Administration’s Balancing Act: Health Insurance Benefits Vs. Costs
Advocacy groups are lobbying as government advisory panel tackles key question: What benefits must insurers cover?
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Advocacy groups are lobbying as government advisory panel tackles key question: What benefits must insurers cover?
MedPac assails Medicare plan to extend quality bonus payments - meant for top-performing health insurers - to those with lower scores.
The Obama administration's proposed rule would require health insurers to explain in detail any rate increase of 10 percent or more in 2011.
A panel appointed by Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell strongly recommended Tuesday that the state move to implement the health overhaul law and take other steps to significantly improve health care in the state.
HHS says that employers and insurers have 60 days to send out detailed notices to consumers on the limitations of their health insurance policies, which could have effects on so-called 'mini-med' policies.
Maryland hospitals and regulators are teaming up in an experimental payment plan to reduce unnecessary admissions while improving patient care.
One day after unveiling new minimum medical spending rules for health plans, Obama administration officials took insurers to task for claiming premium increases result from the new law.
Millions of Americans might be eligible for rebates starting in 2012 under regulations released Monday detailing the health care law's requirement that insurers spend at least 80 percent of their revenue on direct medical care.
The Obama administration will spend up to $1.3 billion to extend special payments -- meant to reward top-performing insurers -- to those that score only average ratings.
New state officials could slow the pace of implementation, seek waivers from some provisions, veto state legislation and appoint like-minded people to important positions, such as insurance commissioner slots.
State insurance regulators have defined one of the thorniest provisions of the new health overhaul law: the requirement that insurers spend at least 80 percent of revenue on direct medical care.
One of the nation's largest health insurers said today it is testing a new way to pay for some cancer treatments, aiming to identify the best medicines
The health reform law is likely to spur more hospital mergers, fueling a trend that experts say has led to higher hospital prices and insurance premiums.
Colleges and universities are warning federal officials that they may not be able to offer student health plans in the future unless the government clarifies certain provisions of the new health overhaul law.
The new health overhaul law aims to end all annual dollar limits on health insurance policies by 2014, but insurers that offer limited-benefit plans can seek waivers so they can continue to offer them. Many employers want to keep the plans, criticized by consumer advocates as skimpy.
Forget sending workers overseas for lower cost medical care: A growing number of employers are encouraging workers to travel within the states to medical facilities they say have better quality and lower costs.
Under the new health law, many insurers will have to publicly report how much they plan to raise premiums and why, but consumer advocates say draft rules on how much information is required to justify "unreasonable" increases fall short.
When the big California health insurer Wellpoint sought rate increases up to 39 percent this year, some wondered if they were unusual. But in a new national survey consumers who buy their own policies report the most recent rate requests averaged 20 percent.
More than 2.2 million Americans have atrial fibrillation, the most common heart arrhythmia, but treatment choices vary widely
Under the new health law, a nonprofit entity called the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute will be established to carry out a comparative effectiveness research agenda, starting in 2012. The law bars the government from using findings as the sole basis for decisions about what Medicare will cover.
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