Reimbursement
In a speech to the Nashville Health Care Council, Marilyn Tavenner, principal deputy administrator and COO of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, highlighted programs that provide a "bridge" to full implementation of healthcare reform in 2014.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) formally launched its innovations website, where it plans to gather and test new ideas to improve the healthcare system for its Medicare, Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
Less than a week after Blue Shield of California shelved its planned increases for individual members, Anthem Blue Cross has decided to decrease its planned rate hike and increases in co-payments and deductibles for more than 600,000 members enrolled in its family plans.
The Nevada Division of Health Care Financing and Policy has signed a five-year, $176 million agreement with HP Enterprise Services to strengthen Medicaid operations and help position the state for healthcare reform.
Less than a week after Blue Shield of California shelved its planned increases for individual members, Anthem Blue Cross has decided to decrease its planned rate hike and withhold increases in co-payments and deductibles for more than 600,000 members enrolled in its family plans.
The Department of Health and Human Services has reported that nearly 48,000 Medicare enrollees have saved $38 million this year - an average of $800 per person - under a 50 percent discount created by the Affordable Care Act.
Two Pennsylvania Congressmen - from opposite sides of the aisle - have filed a bill seeking to eliminate a competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment that has frustrated providers and consumers.
Idaho plans to increase state funding for Medicaid, though the total budget for Medicaid will decrease, according to a report in the Idaho Statesmen.
The Department of Health and Human Services has proposed that state Medicaid agencies use federal funds to help pay for uncovering fraud through the screening and analysis of Medicaid claims data.
Two months after announcing its intention to raise rates for 200,000 individual plan members - with some planned increases as high as 59 percent - California Blue Shield is withdrawing its rate filing with the California Department of Insurance and instead will hold both individual and family plan rates steady for the remainder of the year.