News
Blue Shield of California has announced it will work with an outside actuarial firm to examine its proposed rate increase for 194,000 individual members, some of whom would see their rates increase by as much as 59 percent.
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission voted last week to recommend to Congress a 1 percent increase in Medicare hospital inpatient and hospital outpatient prospective payment system rates for 2012, in addition to a 1 percent pay rate increase for physicians.
MEDecision published an e-book Tuesday, Medical Loss Ratios: Important Implications for Care Management, which examines the impact new Health and Human Services mandates will have on care delivery models - and explores the critical role of health IT as health plans work to meet the new requirements.
Hospitals hiring physicians as employees and primary care physicians receiving financial incentives for patients who do well are among the 2010 healthcare trends cited in a new industry report from staffing firm Jackson & Coker.
Via Christi Health, the largest healthcare provider in Kansas, is expanding its relationship with MedAssets to optimize its financial improvement and lower costs on physician preference items through the company's clinical cost management consulting capabilities.
A new nationwide poll shows that 65 percent of Americans would oppose further cuts to funding for long term care.
Paul LePage, Maine's new Republican governor, has submitted a supplemental budget to the Legislature that includes paying back nearly $250 million owed to hospitals for overdue Medicaid charges.
The market for point-of-care tests has almost doubled from 2003 to 2009, according to a new report published by Kalorama Information. With the ability to help reduce healthcare costs while simultaneously improving patient care, POC tests represent a significant and growing share of the world in vitro diagnostics (IVD) market.
Paul LePage, Maine's new Republican governor, has submitted a supplemental budget to the Legislature that includes paying back nearly $250 million owed to hospitals for overdue Medicaid charges.
"It's purely a very fiscally responsible budget," LePage said during a Thursday press conference releasing the budget. "It addresses fiscal responsibility, saving jobs in healthcare and simplifying the tax codes."
With help from a $535,000 grant, the Kansas Academy of Family Physicians is launching a patient-centered medical home initiative this month.