As HMOs Dominate, Alternatives Become More Expensive
A KHN analysis finds a sharp difference in premium prices between plans that offer out-of-network care and those that do not.
UnitedHealth Warns Of Marketplace Exit – Start Of A Trend Or Push For White House Action?
Some analysts and health policy experts view the move as an effort to compel the Obama administration to make changes.
Cancer Meds Often Bring Big Out-Of-Pocket Costs For Patients, Report Finds
The advocacy arm of the American Cancer Society said Wednesday that federal and state governments should move to restrict insurers from charging patients a percentage of the cost of their prescription drugs.
‘Do The Math’ When Shopping For A Health Plan This Open Enrollment Season
Because of the complexity of insurance available through healthcare.gov and state exchanges, and the broad variation in how prescription drugs are covered, experts encourage consumers to compare options to figure out which one best fits their needs.
Feds Issue Proposed Rule On Health Information Collected By Workplace Wellness Programs
This proposal allows these workplace wellness programs to set financial incentives for participation as high as 30 percent of the cost of family coverage. A separate draft rule pegs this amount to the cost of employee-only coverage.
UnitedHealthcare Expands Effort To Rein In Rising Costs Of Cancer Treatment
As part of an effort to pinpoint what’s driving up health expenditures, the insurer is broadening a pilot program to include about 500 more oncologists, bringing the total to 650 physicians in seven states.
No Ready-Made Rx For Rising Drug Costs
Lawmakers, insurers and others have floated proposals to combat the spike in prescription drug prices, but will any of them gain traction?
The clinics have agreed to disclose more fully which health insurance plans consider them “in network.”
Leslie Michelson’s Checklist For Avoiding Diagnostic Errors – The KHN Conversation
Michelson, who runs a Los Angeles-based company that helps patients research their medical options and has written a book about how to avoid bad care, offers advice on how to navigate the health care system.
Express Scripts To Cover Pricey New Cholesterol Drugs
To control costs, the nation’s largest pharmacy benefits manager has in place strict rules on which patients will be eligible.
Workplace Wellness Programs: Early Alarm For Workers’ Health Or A Recipe For Over-Testing?
Some experts worry that these programs encourage health screening that doesn’t necessarily comply with medical guidelines and is helping to drive up health care costs.
Privacy Advocates Urge Stronger Protection Of Employee Health Data
Existing laws designed to control what doctors and hospitals do with your information need to be expanded to employers’ wellness programs, say advocates.
7 Questions To Ask Your Employer About Wellness Privacy
Workplace wellness programs have joined doctors, hospitals and your mother in the campaign to get you healthy. Will they treat your data carefully?
Airports’ Backscatter Security Scanners Easily Meet Radiation Standards, Panel Says
The National Academies of Science panel, however, did not address the question of whether these X-ray machines, which are currently not in use because of privacy concerns, are safe.
IOM: Teamwork Key To Reducing Medical Diagnostic Errors
A report by an Institute of Medicine blue ribbon panel notes that taking steps to address this patient safety issue will involve efforts from across the health system.
New Heart Failure Treatments Would Drive Up Short-Term Health Spending, Report Says
In an analysis, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review concluded that price cuts are needed to control the budgetary impact.
HHS Unveils Civil Rights Protections For Transgender Patients’ Health Services
The new guarantees are part of a wide-ranging proposed rule that would bar discrimination based on gender in insurance coverage, treatments and access.
Pregnancy – A Touchy Subject In Employee Wellness Health Assessments
Pregnancy questions included in many wellness program questionnaires hit a nerve, and advocates are asking the Obama administration to ban these types of queries as part of a pending Equal Employment Opportunity Commission rule.
Surprise! That Urgent Care Center May Send You A Big Bill (Just Like The ER)
Many urgent care centers say they take your insurance. But that’s not the same thing as participating in the plan. It could mean you will get a big bill down the road.
When Does Workplace Wellness Become Coercive?
Employer, consumer groups are critical of the administration’s effort to answer that question.
