Reimbursement

Insurers are picking up more of the cost of prescription pain drugs, according to a study linking that trend with the rise in opioid-related deaths.

Barred from restaurants, banned on airplanes and unwelcome in workplaces across America, smokers have become accustomed to hiding their habits. So it's no surprise many may now also be denying their habit when they buy health coverage from the federal health law's insurance exchanges.

ACO Partner takes on upfront costs of services and technology for physician practices, other providers to transform to value-based payments.

Proposed regulations released last week by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are raising concerns that the playing field is uneven, with 87 percent of solo practitioners getting penalized and 81 percent of clinicians in large groups earning bonuses, according to some estimates.

In the 2017 open enrollment period, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will pilot a program on Healthcare.gov to pair results of a 5-star care rating with health plans on the federal marketplace.

A surging interest in Medicare Advantage among the retirement-aged population and the fast-consolidating ranks of private payers has some experts asking whether the program might be the future of Medicare overall.

Florida Hospital has seen significant improvements in its case mix index, resulting in a $72.5 million increase in appropriate reimbursement since the implementation of a clinical documentation improvement program.

Aetna expects its proposed $37 billion acquisition of Humana to close during the second half of 2016, Chairman and CEO Mark Bertolini said during an investor call Thursday while commenting on the insurer's first quarter financial results.

Currently, doctors are paid for things such as tests, treatments and other procedures, but not necessarily for spending time with patients to learn more about their health or develop a treatment plan. Officials say the new payment program will change that.

Administration officials moved Thursday to improve low Medicaid enrollment for emerging prisoners, urging states to start signups before release and expand eligibility to thousands of former inmates in halfway houses near the end of their sentences.