Matchmaker, Matchmaker, What’s Her Copay Like?
When Rabbi Craig Ezring’s annual health insurance costs soared 38 percent this year to a whopping $18,636, he did more than just complain. He went looking for a young wife. For several years, the Boca Raton, Fla., rabbi had been getting coverage through a small corporation he formed with his wife. When she died four years ago, […]
Hospitals Promoting Bargain CT Scans For Smokers
Landmark study shows annual scans reduce lung cancer deaths by 20 percent, but expert groups are not yet recommending such discounted testing because of concerns over complications and overall health costs.
New Money And New Rules For The Exchanges
The Obama administration on Friday allotted $185 million to 13 states and the District of Columbia to help build new insurance exchanges and issued rules on how the new marketplaces will enroll individuals, provide subsidies to low- and middle-class Americans and interact with state Medicaid programs. These grants, which will cover a variety of expenses […]
FAQ: ‘Super Committee’ Could Have Big Impact On Medicare, Medicaid Spending
A guide to how the congressional “super” committee’s deliberations could influence Medicare and Medicaid.
ER Use Of CT Scans Rises Sharply, Raising Questions About Costs And Benefits
Emergency department patients are getting CT scans at rates five times higher than in the mid-1990s, a new study finds, raising questions about whether the test is being overused and driving up health costs or helping to lower costs by reducing hospitalizations. About 14 percent of ER patients received a scan in 2007, compared to […]
Newly Insured In Mass. Continue To Use Community Health Centers
Community health centers in Massachusetts saw a surge in patients after the state expanded health insurance coverage, indicating that the safety-net clinics remain a vital source of care even when people gain insurance, according to a study released today. The report, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that the number of patients treated […]
HHS: Millions Of Seniors Taking Advantage Of The Health Law
The number of Medicare beneficiaries being helped by the 2010 health care overhaul continues to pile up, Obama administration boasted today. Polls have shown seniors, who are an important voting bloc, to be more skeptical of the law than other age groups. Administration officials have sought to allay those concerns and to draw attention to new […]
Nation’s Health Care Bill To Nearly Double By 2020
New estimates from Medicare’s actuaries find the nation’s health spending will grow by 5.8 percent a year through 2020, compared to 5.7 percent without the overhaul.
Hospitals Look For Disney Magic To Make Customers Happy
Medicare payments soon will partly reflect patient satisfaction, so hospitals are seeking advice from the entertainment kingdom.
Health Coverage Holding Up Better For Union Members
Labor unions, under pressure by states and employers to shoulder more of their health care costs, have fared relatively well at protecting workers’ health benefits during the recession, according to a study released today. The study by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute in Washington found that from 2007 to 2009 union workers were less […]
Maine Governor, Nuns And Maternity Coverage
Maine Gov. Paul LePage, who last month signed into law legislation that will phase out a state program subsidizing health care coverage for more than 8,000 residents, says government-run health programs won’t lower costs or help the uninsured. “The only government system that worked was the GI Bill because it provided checks to those who […]
Cantor Chides Obama for ‘Walking Back’ In Negotiations
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., this morning said that President Barack Obama was “walking back” on some potential budget cuts agreed to in bipartisan debt reduction negotiations headed by Vice President Joe Biden. Those talks had identified up to $2.3 trillion in cuts over the next decade, but Obama now will only commit to […]
A Flower But No Cigar for Sebelius
She bought a potted plant, but if Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius thought it would be enough to persuade the operators of her local hardware store to support new insurance regulations, it didn’t happen. Sebelius and her top deputies came to Frager’s Hardware Store near Capitol Hill to unveil proposed rules on insurance […]
Capitol Hill Store Owner Is Both HHS Host and Health Law Skeptic
When Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius visits Frager’s Hardware Store near the U.S. Capitol Monday, where she is expected to release the much-anticipated proposed regulations on the health insurance exchanges, she’ll face many skeptics. John Weintraub, the store’s co-owner, is one of them. “I am not confident at all that Obamacare will lower my […]
Health Law Provision Could Cost Delaware Hundreds Of Insurance Jobs
Cigna and other insurers are upset coverage for Americans living abroad is not exempted from health law.
S.C. Doctors Fear 5% Medicaid Cut May Cause Patients To Lose Access
State officials, who note that the state payments are above the national average, say they are monitoring the situation.
A Dozen States Slice Medicaid Payments To Doctors, Hospitals
Some experts fear that the cuts could lead to rise in number of doctors who refuse to take Medicaid patients.
Health Law Expands Medicare To Montana Asbestos Patients
The provision could help cover the hundreds of people diagnosed with the condition, but Republican efforts to repeal the law raise concerns for patients.
Some Programs OK’d By Health Law Lacking Funding
Some provisions in the new health law may never get off the ground due to lack of appropriations.
Blue Shield Of California Sets Profit Cap Other Insurers May Not Imitate
Blue Shield of California’s decision to cap profits at 2 percent was widely applauded, but other health insurers aren’t likely to follow suit.
