Hospitals Demand Payment Upfront From ER Patients With Routine Problems
Proponents say the policy saves time and money, but critics fear people will be discouraged from seeking emergency room care when they need it.
HHS Seeks To Cut Preterm Births
The Obama administration launched a $40 million effort Wednesday to reduce premature births, especially early elective deliveries, but it has no plans to stop Medicaid from paying for those deliveries. About 10 percent of all deliveries are scheduled — either as induced or Cesarean-section –before 39 weeks and are not medically indicated, according to the Department of Health […]
Hospitals Mine Their Patients’ Records In Search Of Customers
Hospitals say they are promoting needed services, such as cancer screenings and cholesterol tests, but they often use the data to target patients with private health insurance, which typically pay higher rates than government coverage.
Study: Health Law’s Tax On Insurers Will Take Bite Out Of Medicaid
Under the health care overhaul, the federal government will begin taxing itself and the states beginning in 2014. And that’s giving state Medicaid directors heartburn. The law calls for a new tax on health insurers’ premium revenue — intended to help pay for expansion of coverage to 32 million uninsured Americans. But the tax will be paid by all […]
‘Oy Vey’: Jewish Republicans In South Florida See Little To Like In Health Care Law
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Waiting for Newt Gingrich to arrive at a Republican Jewish Coalition rally here late afternoon Friday, Connie Cestari, 80, said health care will be a top issue for her in November. She said she’s voting Republican in part to make sure the 2010 health overhaul gets overturned, because it gives the government too big a role in health. […]
States Ease Barriers To Medicaid, CHIP Enrollment, Survey Says
Updated at 10:55 a.m. Half the states last year made it easier for children and their parents to enroll in Medicaid by streamlining enrollment and using technology advances to verify citizenship requirements, according to a report released Wednesday. Medicaid is the state-federal health insurance program for the poor and disabled that covers about 60 million Americans. […]
Alaska To Spend $200K A Year For Each High Risk Pool Member
Alaska has long been known as one of the most expensive places to live in the United States. Those higher costs extend to health care services as well. A high risk pool set up under the federal health overhaul to help the uninsured who have pre-existing medical conditions expects to spend $10 million this year […]
‘Almost Heaven’ Meets ‘Paradise’ — Virgin Islands and West Virginia Discuss An Exchange
One place, known for its Appalachian Mountains and rich coal supply, was immortalized in John Denver’s 1970s hit, “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” The other has white sandy beaches, rum distilling and an average January high temperature of 86 degrees that attracts millions of tourists each year. From economy to climate, West Virginia and the U.S. Virgin Islands […]
The Supreme Court, The Individual Mandate, And Eating Your Broccoli
One of the major arguments against the individual health insurance mandate in the federal health overhaul is this: If Congress can force most Americans to buy health insurance, can’t it also require people to buy broccoli? It’s a question a senior Obama administration official faced Friday in a briefing with reporters an hour before the Justice […]
9 States Seek Help For High-Risk Pools
Nine states have asked the federal government for more money to make sure their new high-risk pools that provide health coverage for people with pre-existing conditions don’t run out of money before 2014, the Obama administration said Thursday Two of the states — California and New Hampshire — have already been promised additional money. The […]
Connecticut Drops Insurers From Medicaid
The ‘Insurance Capital’ bucks the nationwide trend of states turning to private managed care plans.
Feds Bolster High Risk Insurance Funds In Two States
The federal government this month increased funding to New Hampshire and California to make sure their new high-risk pools that provide coverage to uninsured people with pre-existing condition don’t run out of money before 2014. Because nationwide enrollment has been far less than expected, overall federal funding for the program established under the health overhaul appears […]
Hospitals Adopt Drug Industry Sales Strategy
“Sales calls” on doctors’ offices help to fill beds, but also elicit criticism.
Administration Ties Medicaid Managed Care Expansion To Performance
The managed care industry’s growing role in Medicaid got a boost Monday when the Obama administration approved Texas’ plan to shift one million additional recipients into private health plans by 2013.
Berwick: Don’t Blame Medicare, Medicaid. It’s The Delivery System
The former Medicare administrator says the U.S. health care system “isn’t built for modern times,” but the health care law will help rein in costs and improve care.
Berwick Calls Republicans ‘The True Rationers’
Don Berwick, who left his job last week as head of the Medicare and Medicaid programs after sustained opposition from Senate Republicans who accused him of supporting rationing, struck back Wednesday with a blistering attack on his critics. “The true rationers are those who impede improvement, who stand in the way of change, and who […]
Health Law May Accelerate Growth In Urgent Care Centers
Crowded emergency rooms and a lack of primary care doctors have fueled recent expansions. But the drive to lower costs is also a factor and could bring more customers under the overhaul.
Study: Florida Leads Nation In Getting More Kids Insured
Florida leads the nation in reducing the number and rate of uninsured children, according to a study released Tuesday. From 2008 to 2010, the number of uninsured children in Florida fell by more than 160,000 to 506,934, says the report by researchers at the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. The state’s rate of […]
Tavenner To Replace Berwick At CMS Helm
President Barack Obama chose Marilyn Tavenner, a nurse and former hospital executive, to run the agency overseeing Medicare and Medicaid.
Super Committee Urged To Alter Coverage For Some Low-Income Medicare Beneficiaries
State Medicaid directors and health insurers press panel to move people who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid into private health plans for more efficient care.
