Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Without Final Rules, Mass. Long-Term Care Insurance Costs Continue To Rise
The Boston Globe: Rates Soar For Long-Term Care Policies Amid Standoff Over New Rules
The cost of long-term health insurance for Bentley University biotechnology professor Lynn Arenella will double in the next year, to about $2,600 annually. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Legislators passed a law in 2012 aimed at protecting consumers from such steep increases. But nearly four years later, amid a tussle between industry and consumer groups, state insurance regulators still haven’t issued final rules for implementing the law, leaving insurance companies to raise certain rates at will. The delay has allowed Arenella’s insurer, Chicago-based CNA Financial Corp., to raise premiums by close to 100 percent for Massachusetts consumers who bought their policies through their employers, unions, or associations — known as group coverage — with no regulatory review. (Fernandes, 8/8)
Des Moines Register: New Model: Insurers Hire The Doctors
Leaders of a new east-side Des Moines clinic say they can help patients stay healthy while saving money for the insurance company that owns the place. The CareMore clinic is the most extensive Iowa example of a new health care model: Health insurance companies that pay medical bills also employ the doctors, nurses and other professionals who provide the care. The clinic, which is on East Euclid Avenue, is part of a controversial shift in Iowa’s Medicaid program. (Leys, 8/2)
Star Tribune: A Service That Will Read The Fine Print On Medical Bills For You
Athos Health, a start-up based in St. Paul, wants to help people review their medical bills so patients don’t wind up paying hundreds or thousands of dollars in unnecessary out-of-pocket costs. Those costs are more likely as more health insurance policies feature high deductibles where patients must spend thousands of dollars out-of-pocket before full coverages kicks-in. (Snowbeck, 8/6)
