Health Plan Watchdog Still Seeks Progress After 25 Years
Increased comparative information on health plans is helping consumers shop, says Margaret O’Kane, president of the National Committee for Quality Assurance.
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Incentive Worth $550 Fails To Motivate Obese Workers To Lose Weight
Obese employees at the University of Pennsylvania were promised an insurance premium discount valued at $550 if they lost 5 percent of their weight, but the incentive failed.
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2016 Health Law Exchange Enrollment Tops 11.3M
The government’s most detailed release of figures shows insurance plan sign-ups beat the Obama administration’s goal for the year.
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Medicaid To Fund More Addiction Treatment
Some Medicaid plans will now get federal funding for 15 days of inpatient treatment. But Pennsylvania fears the new rule will close a loophole the state has been using to pay for longer stints.
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Turning To Medicaid To Insure Lowest-Paid Employees
A startup company called BeneStream helps businesses get their low-wage workers on Medicaid to meet the health law's mandate for employers.
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Heavy Use Of CT Scans Raises Concerns About Patients’ Exposure To Radiation
CT scans, which are administered more than 85 million times a year, are an important diagnostic tool, but just one can be equivalent to 200 X-rays. Some doctors warn that health providers are not considering possible consequences when ordering the tests.
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Hospitals Required To Keep Caregivers In The Loop
California is one of several states to pass laws intended to involve caregivers in discussions when patients are hospitalized or discharged.
By Anna Gorman -
Gaps Remain Among States’ Medicaid Efforts To Help People Kick Smoking Habit
Even though Medicaid enrollees are more likely to be smokers than the general public, a study published Tuesday in Health Affairs examined state data from 2010 to 2013 and found wide differences in funding of cessation efforts.
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Feds Funding Effort To Tie Medical Services To Social Needs
The goal is to improve health and potentially reduce spending.
By Julie Rovner -
More Employers Offer Plans That Provide Lump Sums For Critical Illnesses
The plans can help workers cover their high deductibles, but the policies also have limitations.
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Cleveland Pressures Hospitals To Keep ERs Open To All Ambulances
When you call an ambulance, you expect to go to the nearest hospital. But patients are often diverted to more distant emergency rooms. Cleveland wants hospitals to stop the practice.
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Do You Speak Health Insurance? It’s Not Easy.
Even savvy consumers stumble over terms like “coinsurance.”
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Obamacare Insurers Sweeten Plans With Free Doctor Visits
Some insurers are betting that lowering the barrier to seeing a doctor will encourage people to get needed care sooner. If it works, the health plans could save more than they spend on the benefit.
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Worlds Apart: Vast Disparities In Treatment Separate Americans With HIV
Poverty and mental illness are among problems keeping about two-thirds of those infected — mainly minorities — from receiving treatment.
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Medicare Payment Changes Lead More Men To Get Screening Colonoscopies
The health law waived Medicare’s Part B deductible and dropped the 20 percent copayment for the preventive tests.
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Hands Off That Frozen Pizza! Docs Advise Customers As They Shop
An Orange County, California hospital system is posting doctors at supermarkets to help customers make healthier choices. It’s part of a larger national effort among hospitals to improve community health outcomes.
By Anna Gorman -
ER Doctors Say Federal Rules Could Raise Patients’ Out-Of-Network Bills
Two physician groups say the government’s regulations for out-of-network emergency care payments will cost consumers more because insurers will pay less.
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Pharmacists Prescribing Birth Control And What It Means For Wider Access To The Pill
Two western states — California and Oregon — have passed laws allowing pharmacists to prescribe birth control. Public health advocates see it as a way to expand access to the pill, and many doctors say it’s safe. But others argue these measures don’t go far enough.
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Health Plans’ Coverage Of Some Drugs Can Be A Source Of Consumer Confusion
Some medicines, particularly intravenous treatments, are not listed in plans’ pharmacy benefit section and, therefore, it’s difficult to confirm coverage specifics.