News

As Americans mark breast cancer awareness month, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius released a new report Friday that shows how health insurance reform will help women diagnosed with breast cancer.

About 70 percent of practicing physicians in Massachusetts support health reform three years after its passage in 2006, according to a study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation.

Overall healthcare prices increased 0.2 percent in September and were 2.8 percent higher than a year ago, according to data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Three quarters of health plan attendees at Portico System’s third Annual Integrated Provider Management Symposium said provider reimbursement and network access would be affected by industry reforms.

In an effort to save $60 million, Cook County Health and Hospitals System officials are cutting 335 jobs and eliminating 700 vacant positions.

Medicare-approved medical equipment suppliers in nine communities will have 60 days to submit bids for the round one re-bid of the durable medical equipment competitive bidding program.

While there is widespread support on Capitol Hill for fixing the complicated payment formula used to reimburse physicians who participate in Medicare, Wednesday's Senate vote shows there is no consensus on how to do that.

Many employers plan to adjust their benefit strategies based on how healthcare reform legislation affects their costs, according to a survey of HR and benefit executives from mid-sized and large organizations.

Doctors must be paid on the basis of outcomes, not for how many services they provide - and patients, too, must be held accountable for their health, says Joseph Kvedar, MD.

Community Health Care, a healthcare provider for uninsured and underinsured residents in southern New Jersey, is now offering discount medications to tens of thousands of families.