Elective abortions will be prohibited and people with pre-existing conditions will be able to get comprehensive benefits without paying any more than healthy people, under new federal regulations for high-risk health insurance pools
The law Congress adopted this spring to reshape the nation’s health-care system will be especially beneficial to women
Researchers have developed an implantable sensor that measures blood sugar continuously and transmits the information without wires — a milestone, they said, in diabetes treatment
Americans spent nearly twice as much money on treatment for back pain, in 2007 compared with 1997, or $30.3 billion compared with $16 billion, according to a report from the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
In a defeat for the powerful drug lobby, a Senate panel approved legislation to prohibit drug companies from paying generic drug makers to delay bringing less costly products to market.
The Medical Loss Ration debate is much more than a technical fight between bureaucrats and health plans. The implications for patients are enormous.
Employers’ efforts to get their workers to shed unneeded pounds, quit smoking and otherwise improve their health are likely to fail unless wellness programs are planned and implemented correctly, a new research brief says.
The Technology for Monitoring Elderly Relatives
Technologies Help Adult Children Monitor Aging Parents
A bipartisan group of senators on Thursday unveiled legislation designed to cut healthcare costs by offering legal services to patients in public health settings.
As companies put the final touches on their health care plans for 2011, more of them say they are planning to penalize workers who decline to participate in disease management or lifestyle behavior programs offered by an employer
Evolution Benefits, Inc. announced today that it has been acquired by Genstar Capital, LLC, a private equity firm based in San Francisco. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The federal budget deficit is expected to set a record this year, at nearly $1.5 trillion, or 10 percent of GDP, and next year will be about the same, with a deficit exceeding $1.4 trillion for a third straight year.
Last week the nation’s largest health insurers received a letter from the AMA and 46 state medical societies that sharply criticized the accuracy and reliability of the cost-profiling mechanisms that many payers use to rate and tier physicians.
An annual scorecard on benefits shows that public employees continue to have richer benefits than their private-sector counterparts
Medical journals and federal public policy documents are sounding a refrain: too many doctors are ordering too many expensive, unnecessary and possibly cancer-provoking tests
CVS Caremark will run Aetna’s pharmacy-benefit business for at least the next 12 years, according to the terms of a deal announced
Insured Americans are using fewer medical services, raising questions about whether patients are consuming less health care as they pick up a greater share of the costs
AHRQ’s annual release of state-by-state quality data now has data on health insurance, including healthcare quality categorized by private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid and the uninsured
Vestar Capital Partners and Health Grades, Inc. signed a definitive agreement for an affiliate of Vestar to acquire all of the outstanding shares of HealthGrades for $8.20 per share, which represents a premium of approximately 32% over HealthGrades’ 30-day average closing stock price
Insurers including WellPoint and Aetna are experimenting with programs that allow heart-failure patients to transmit their vital signs and other indicators of health from home to a medical caregiver using electronic devices
As part of its effort to encourage widespread adoption of electronic health records (EHR) systems, the federal government has eased the requirements that health care providers must meet if they want to receive reimbursements for such projects.
Americans grew more downbeat about their current economic situation, but even more pessimistic about the future
Today Mayo announced the launch of a Center for Social Media, which it says will expand social media tools beyond the traditional P.R. and marketing functions to use by staff, physicians and patients
On the airways, obesity public service announcements are lining up while a “Truth” campaign about tobacco languishes for lack of money.
Dialysis services for nearly 330,000 Medicare patients with end stage renal disease will be paid under a new system that creates a bundled, case-adjusted rate starting Jan. 1
The decision to admit as inpatient is a complex medical judgment that can only be made after a physician has taken into consideration a number of clinical and safety factors
UnitedHealth Group Inc. is nearing an agreement to buy Executive Health Resources Inc., a medical services firm backed by Abry Partners LLC, for about $1.5 billion
Aetna Inc. is contracting out long-term administration of its pharmacy-benefit business to CVS Caremark Corp., in a 12-year agreement that could offer prescription-drug discounts to some 10 million members
Among the most important questions involving the health care overhaul is how seniors will be affected. Here are two of the biggest pocketbook issues
New census data released Tuesday confirm a huge spread in the rate of uninsured from state to state and the big difference in impact that can be expected as a result of the health-care overhaul
Spurred in part by the law, many independent providers across the country are racing to mold themselves into the kind of coordinated teams held up as models for improving care.
Direct-to-consumer genetic tests may be getting ahead of the current medical science and could ironically pose health risks , according to a new GAO study and testimony presented late last week before a House panel
Of all the aspects of the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that critics fiercely object to, few generate more ire than the mandates.
New CMS Administrator Donald Berwick, MD, has not yet been on the job a month, and he’s already finding himself in the middle of one of those reimbursement tugs-of-war that seem to define modern healthcare.
The number of physicians in California has been increasing faster than the state’s population, but not as fast as the state needs, especially as both state and federal legislation strive to increase the number of people who receive healthcare services.
Cash-strapped state officials might want to take a second look at how the 45 million people who receive health care through Medicaid purchase prescription drugs
Paul Cary used to examine up to 30 patients a day at his senior-focused internal medicine practice in Dallas – until he began charging them $1,500 a year to secure a spot in his schedule – he traded quantity for quality
The explosive growth of the USA’s older population is fueling a grass-roots “village” movement in neighborhoods across the country to help people age in their own homes
CMS included an update to the SNF PPS rates and consolidated billing for fiscal year (FY) 2011 in the July 22 Federal Register
Technology that aims to keep congestive heart failure patients out of the hospital is gaining traction.
Among the most important questions involving the health-care overhaul are how seniors will be affected – CLASS and doughnut hole
Provisions in the health reform law would set up and evaluate different models of coordinated care delivery, including the ACO’s and medical homes – ideally, proponents say, ACOs and medical homes would join forces for the greatest impact
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice LLC and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s private-equity unit are in talks to buy medical supply distribution company Harrington Holdings Inc. for about $850 million including deb
Under current procedures, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) pay for more than 7,000 types of physician services, identified in codes developed by the American Medical Association. But the term “complicated conversations” doesn’t apparently come up.
The legislative battle over the health care overhaul ended months ago, but it is hard to tell from the intense effort now under way by insurance companies to retool a critical provision.
A new study from the American Enterprise Institute suggests many patients are still using pricey brand-name drugs long after comparable generics become available.
Most Americans know the overhaul is designed to cover the uninsured, a decades-long goal of Democrats. But it also represents a change in how the government spreads its social safety net underneath Americans
Wherever there is third-party payment, the goal of innovation is to produce more products that qualify for reimbursement, even if the effects on patient outcomes are only marginal. Wherever there is no third-party reimbursement, innovators are focused on ways to lower cost and raise quality.
The NEUGRID – neuroscientists could use the grid-based research e-Infrastructure to identify neurodegenerative disease markers through the analysis of 3D magnetic resonance brain images
One of its most surprising moves so far, it has done the opposite, proposing what would be the most radical reorganization of the National Health Service, as the system is called, since its inception in 1948.
After being touted as the ultimate role model, Britain’s National Health Service, a fiscal failure, is about to be radically decentralized
Cisco finds doctors must alter reimbursement and scheduling practices to gain benefits of videoconferencing
CMS announced a number of changes to Medicare home health payments for 2011 including a 4.75 percent decrease in Medicare payments to home health agencies (HHAs) for calendar year 2011
Scientists have found a way to dramatically reduce the erosion of memory and learning ability in mice with a version of Alzheimer’s disease, potentially offering a new approach for tackling the illness in humans
Negative studies — the ones that fail to find that one therapy is superior to another — usually do not elicit much excitement. But with high costs and patient overtreatment looming large in the health-care debate, negative studies may be getting a closer look.
U.S. workers who lost their jobs as of June 1 won’t be eligible for a 65 percent federal subsidy to help pay for health insurance under an unemployment bill Congress will send to the President
Programs providing home visits that can ultimately reduce pre-term births and the need for emergency room visits are being awarded $88 million from the federal government.
Meaningful Use: Some Republican lawmakers raised what is a basic question when creating a new policy: How tough do you make requirements to get federal funding? How high should the bar be set?
The new health reform law will advance the effort to “eradicate” differences in how mental health treatment is covered by insurers.
Patients will find it easier to appeal the denials of health insurance claims under rules issued today by the Obama administration
Genetic-testing companies that promised to help consumers understand their health risks instead offered contradictory and misleading results, government investigators said.
Patients last year averaged a record of four hours and seven minutes spent in the nation’s emergency departments—a four minute increase over 2008 wait times, and a 31-minute increase since reports were made available in 2002
Ingenix has agreed to acquire Picis Inc., a Wakefield, Mass.-based provider of healthcare software for high-acuity areas of the hospital
While there is still room for growth in the U.S. health insurance industry, international markets may play a large role in the expansion strategies of some of the largest companies in the near future.
Technology companies are ramping up their health care businesses ahead of an expected influx of equipment orders from hospitals and doctors who want to start using electronic health records
GE’s health-care unit has asked the FCC to allow devices that transmit patients’ vital signs to share the 2360MHz to 2400MHz range of the electromagnetic spectrum, now used by Chicago-based Boeing to test the safety of planes
13 makers of genetic tests sold directly to consumers told by U.S. regulators that their products may be medical devices needing federal approval
Patients will find it easier to appeal the denials of health insurance claims under rules being issued by the Obama administration, which is trying to boost political support for the new health-care law by highlighting advantages for consumers
It’s no secret that consumer health care is hot, but Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC’s proposed £2.5 billion offer for SSL International PLC has just slapped a massive 18.6x Ebitda multiple on the sector
If Massachusetts is a harbinger – and all evidence indicates it is – the new federal health overhaul legislation is headed for serious trouble
The proposed rule that modifies the HIPAA privacy, security, and enforcement rules has been published in the Federal Register for about a week and could go final anytime after the last comment is sealed by HHS Sept. 13
The AMA believes that it will be challenging for many physicians to participate successfully in the program
Some Republican members of the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee used Tuesday’s hearing to challenge the meaningful use requirements
As we age, medical technology is able to keep our bodies functioning beyond a hope of recovery. Is this really the best way to spend our last days?
Kathleen Sebelius appointed 28 people across the country to a “negotiated rulemaking” committee “to review and update the criteria used to define medically underserved areas and health professional shortage areas”
Leaders from healthcare organizations and associations, lawyers, consultants, IT vendors, and a host of other experts are slogging their way through all 800-plus pages of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services final rule for the meaningful use of electronic health records
Health plan systems that score physicians on how carefully they control costs misclassify or are “woefully inaccurate” up to 66% of the time.
A project is beginning to test if patients fare better when given fast electronic access to more of their medical chart
The Health and Human Services Department on Monday issued a request for information on constructing an online catalog of studies that compare the outcomes of medical treatments.
“Lean” is basically industry jargon used to describe lower-cost plans with high deductibles or that otherwise focus on covering catastrophic coverage, not day-to-day health-care needs
The length of the average Medicare certified hospice stay in a nursing home has doubled—from 46 days to 93 days—during the last 10 years, according to researchers at Brown University
U.S. Chamber to launch website for businesses to air health reform grievances
There is optimism that the new health reform law will advance the effort to “eradicate” differences in how mental health treatment is covered by insurers
To qualify for the first wave of HITECH meaningful use incentives starting in 2011, hospitals have to meet 14 core requirements and eligible professionals — such as doctors and nurse practioners — must meet 15 core requirements.
In what may signal an important shift, some chief executives say they are ready to start spending the mountains of cash they have stockpiled over the past year
Most companies no longer grow organically—that is, through innovation, research, and development—but increasingly are acquiring competitors or up-and-coming firms with new products or access to new markets
Starting this fall, changes under the health-care overhaul will take some of the worry out of emergency room visits
Upset about the federal government’s elimination of pay for specialty consultations, about one in five physicians has eliminated or cut back on accepting new Medicare patients
Doctor groups criticized growing efforts by health plans to steer patients toward certain physicians based on cost or quality, arguing in a letter to insurers that the rankings may be unreliable and unfair
RACs proved effective and relevant to Medicare fee-for-service, it remains to be seen how this effort will translate into other programs
The nation’s healthcare system has four overarching goals: wellness, high-quality care, access to care, and a stable health system. Most healthcare providers wouldn’t argue, however, that there’s a fifth goal— getting paid fairly for the care that’s given
CMS last week expanded its popular Hospital Compare website – but still missing is the rate of healthcare-associated infections occurring in hospitals
Intuitive Automata’s research has shown that users stick with Autom’s programs, which provide feedback and encouragement, longer than most diets, even after the novelty of using a robot wears off
The Carlyle Group continued its flurry of dealmaking with two globe-spanning, health-related investments Monday, one in Australia and the second in Brazil
Venture investors opened their wallets a bit wider in the second quarter, increasing their investment pace after a dismal first quarter
Disease management and its relationship to insurers medical loss ratio
Epocrates Inc, a provider of clinical information and support tools to healthcare professionals, on Thursday filed with regulators to raise up to $75 million in an initial public offering
The relentlessly rising cost of health insurance is prompting some small Massachusetts companies to drop coverage for their workers
“There is no such thing as a drug with no side effects. But when it comes to obesity, the risk/benefit ratio is so skewed to the risk side in the FDA’s decision that it makes it very difficult for any obesity drug to get through”
A high bar is likely to be set for companies seeking to sell genetic tests directly to consumers, according to top Food and Drug Administration officials
In briefing documents posted online, FDA reviewers said two follow-up studies recently submitted by Roche failed to show that Avastin significantly extended lives compared to chemotherapy alone.
The Obama administration and its allies now defend the requirement as an exercise of the government’s “power to lay and collect taxes.”
In spite of high unemployment numbers, there’s a lot of fat in the workplace—and it’s costing a bundle
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co was trumped by a higher-than-expected offer by TPG and Carlyle following last-minute negotiations at the weekend with Healthscope
Many worry there won’t be enough physicians to care for the estimated 30 million more patients who will be insured under the health law passed earlier this year. The Association of American Medical Colleges estimates a shortage that could reach 150,000 doctors by 2025
A group of Democratic lawmakers wants to use the immigration reform debate to fix one of the most hotly contested aspects of the health care law — provisions that bar immigrants from using new government programs to get coverage
Insurance regulators are drafting rules that will effectively determine how lucrative the individual market will be by dictating how much leeway insurers have to calculate their “medical-loss ratio”
Massachusetts – aside from squeezing take-home pay (employers provide almost 70 percent of insurance), higher costs have automatically shifted government priorities toward health care and away from everything else
As the Obama administration begins to enact the new national health care law, the country’s biggest insurers are promoting affordable plans with reduced premiums that require participants to use a narrower selection of doctors or hospitals
For several years now and with a growing messianic fervor, physicians and health care experts have been responding to the need to deliver more efficient and better primary care with one response: patient-centered medical homes
The American Cancer Society and three federal agencies named 19 chemicals and shift work on Thursday as potential causes of cancer that deserve more investigation.
The first round of requirements for what constitutes “meaningful use” of digitized medical practices and procedures were released on Tuesday
Federal regulators are proposing changes to expand use of the $400 million government program that subsidizes Internet services at hospitals, clinics and other health care facilities in rural areas.
Under new rules will be required to cover preventive services for such procedures as blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol tests, many cancer screenings, routine vaccinations, prenatal care, and regular wellness visits for infants and children
There is “less than a 50-50” chance Congress will approve the $11.6 billion in extra federal Medicaid assistance U.S. states have included in their current budgets
Under the new health care overhaul law, insurers will be required to pay fully for services that get an “A” or “B” recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force – good news for patients but it puts the group in the cross-hairs of lobbyists
Patients diagnosed with dementia through screening ran up 13 percent less in health costs in the first year of treatment than before, according to a study suggesting wider detection could reduce U.S. medical expenses
Big surprise – the OECD found that the United States may be spending its healthcare dollars less efficiently when compared with those other nations
There were a number of changes from the proposed to the final version of HHS’ meaningful use rule—requirements that will qualify hospitals and physician practices for federal reimbursements
Hospitals would have to cut direct costs by an average of $1,082 per case—14%—to sustain operating margins
A panel of federal health experts dealt a surprising setback Thursday to a highly anticipated anti-obesity pill from Vivus Inc., saying the drug’s side effects outweigh its ability to help patients lose weight.
$96 million in grants will be doled out by the Department of Health and Human Services on July 1 to hundreds of health-profession programs at colleges and universities nationwide
Several states are preparing to make deep cuts to Medicaid as a federal stalemate over funding for the poor drags on—even as states face mandates to expand the program under the new health-care law
Pharmaceutical group shifts tone with new pick for president
The Obama administration on Wednesday will unveil new rules specifying which preventive health services will be free to consumers under the new health law.
The Obama administration on Tuesday rolled out an ambitious five-year plan for moving doctors and hospitals to computerized medical records, promising greater safety for patients and lower costs.
The federal government issued new rules Tuesday that will reward doctors and hospitals for the “meaningful use” of electronic health records, a top goal of President Obama.
The federal government is making it easier for health care providers to get bonus money for using electronic health records starting next year
ZocDoc, a New York-based provider of physician finder and appointment booking services, has raised $15 million in Series B funding
The House on Wednesday passed legislation that would make telework a statutory requirement for every federal agency
With nagging text messages or more customized two-way interactions, researchers are trying to harness the power of cell phones to help fight chronic diseases.
There will be more at stake than just one drug’s future when the Food and Drug Administration opens a two-day hearing Tuesday on the safety of the diabetes drug Avandia.
A handful of states that have begun accepting applications for their new federally funded high-risk health insurance pools have seen a slow trickle of enrollees but expect a bigger wave as word spreads about the option
The heads of President Barack Obama’s national debt commission painted a gloomy picture Sunday as the United States struggles to get its spending under control
Hundreds of thousands of Americans die of sudden cardiac death each year, an occurrence that can run in families. Now, some doctors are turning to genetic testing to pinpoint the underlying cause of death and help save surviving relatives.
It has rapidly become clear to us that the NHS simply cannot continue to afford to support the costs of the existing bureaucracy; it is the largest employer in Europe, with more than 1.3 million employees.
Frustration is mounting with Congress’s failure to pass an extension of additional Medicaid funding to plug holes in state budgets.
Not only was Avandia no better than Actos, but the study also provided clear signs that it was riskier to the heart. But instead of publishing the results, the company spent the next 11 years trying to cover them up
Aon Corp., the world’s largest insurance broker, agreed to buy Hewitt Associates for $4.9 billion, a move intended to expand further into the human-resources consulting business and step up competition with main rival Marsh & McLennan Cos.
Humana has made a move to expand its wellness capabilities and offer members targeted, lifestyle-specific assistance, acquiring Cincinnati-based Hummingbird Coaching Services
In February, 47 governors sent a letter in February to Congress requesting lawmakers give states more money for Medicaid, and NGA leadership again renewed that call last week
Dieters, doctors and investors get their first extensive look at the first of a trio of new weight loss drugs this week
CMS has expanded the amount of information available on its Hospital Compare website to include 11 new outpatient measures, along with updated information related to 30 day mortality and readmissions rates
Merck plans to lay off about 15 percent of its work force — about 15,000 people — over the next two years as part of a global merger restructuring
Orszag’s successor as director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is likely to write budgets that are much more austere than the ones crafted during the first two years of the administration
Months after delivering its crucial endorsement of the health care overhaul, the American Medical Association has found itself with fewer friends on Capitol Hill and more critics questioning its lobbying savvy
A new study suggests that current guidelines for screening children for high cholesterol fail to capture many with elevated levels who might benefit from healthier diet and exercise habits or treatment with cholesterol-lowering medication
White House adviser David Axelrod defended the recess appointment of Donald Berwick and sought to dispel concerns among some Republicans that Mr. Berwick favored a nationalized health-care system
A recent analysis by the North Carolina-based nonprofit RTI International found that gastric bypass and banding are cost-effective methods of reducing complications and death in obese people with diabetes
The price for health care that hospitals pass on to insurers and patients will soar 4.4 percent this year under several rate increases approved by the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission.
Three companies are developing chemical dyes to identify proteins in the brain, called beta amyloid, that are markers for Alzheimer’s
And a study published online today by the Lancet suggests that a strategy that weds telemonitoring and self-management of medications may help some people with poorly controlled hypertension
Experience shows how difficult it could be for Medicare to save money on such programs, especially when the government pays hefty fees for help from private health plans and other companies specializing in disease management
When blockbuster drugs lose their patent protection, state Medicaid programs can save millions by switching to generics. A new study shows some states switch more quickly than others
A new study by the Heritage Foundation aims to point out that federal workers are paid 30 to 40 percent higher than their private sector counterparts.
CSC announced a partnership with healthcare kiosk specialist, Savience
The new federal health-care law may pose compliance challenges for taxpayers and the Internal Revenue Service, an IRS ombudsman said
Healthcare costs continue to escalate, with no signs that healthcare reform will bring much relief. The 2010 HealthLeaders Media Industry Survey pointed to the government as the No. 1 cost driver
Several lesser-known provisions also take effect in coming months that could have a lasting impact on the nation’s health care system
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released data yesterday that for the first time show how well hospitals care for patients on nine different measures of outpatient care
Obama used a recess appointment to install Donald Berwick as head of the CMS – Berwick has come under the scrutiny of numerous senators who had anticipated engaging him in discussion of over the finer details of healthcare reform
Medicaid will expand by at least 16 million people as eligibility is raised in 2014 to a new nationwide standard of 133 percent of the poverty level. The surge in enrollment will be highest in states in the South and West
Research shows hospitals don’t have standard process tools that trigger discussions about palliative care and ethics consultations – family meetings occurred relatively infrequently given the vulnerable patient population
HealthCare.gov is the U.S. government’s effort to help consumers understand how they’ll be affected by the 907-page health overhaul signed into law three months ago
A three-year pilot project attempts to determine whether telemedicine technology can provide effective perinatal consulting services to women who have high-risk pregnancies
Restrictions on “pay-to-delay” (limiting drug manufacturers’ abilities to keep generic medicines off the market) were excluded in the final Senate bill – last week the House approved an amendment to curb such practices.
Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder filed a lawsuit Wednesday over the federal health care overhaul, accusing Congress of overstepping its authority
Today, 70 percent of the 48 million Medicaid enrollees are in a managed plan. States typically pay insurers a per-person rate, and the insurers, or HMOs, negotiate. But managed Medicaid has also produced a steady stream of controversies.
CardioNet Inc. said Wednesday that UnitedHealth, one of the largest health insurers, will not cover CardioNet’s wireless heart-monitoring devices.
With all the provisions in the new health care law to bend the cost curve, it seems that Congress left a couple things out: the price of medical supplies and measuring cost-effectiveness in clinical research
The health-care overhaul will require new health plans to begin providing a range of preventive health services at no cost to patients. Many people want contraception to be one of the required free services
Forget about traveling to Thailand or India for low-cost surgeries. More employers and insurers are offering financial incentives to encourage workers to consider “domestic medical travel.”
Obama said earlier this year that the health-care bill that Congress passed three months ago is “essentially identical” to the Massachusetts universal coverage plan – which is a damning indictment of ObamaCare
The number of Americans getting screened for colon cancer and breast can cancer has risen significantly in recent years, but the CDC says even higher rates of screening could prevent thousands of additional deaths from cancer each year
Curves International Inc., whose 30-minute workout for women once made it among the world’s fastest-growing franchises, seems to be running out of steam
President Obama plans to bypass the U.S. Senate and appoint Donald Berwick as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Another 2.5 million U.S. adults joined the uninsured population as the ranks of the privately insured continued to decline, says a new report
Obama announced a $795 million government program to develop broadband access in rural parts of the country. Among the beneficiaries will be 900 health care facilities.
HMS has signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held Allied Management Group, a leading provider of fraud, waste, and abuse prevention and detection solutions for health care payors
Study Finds Doctors’ Orders Help Patients Get Preferred End-Of-Life Treatment
USPSTF calls for all women to be screened for osteoporosis starting at age 65, or earlier (of any age) if deemed to have higher risks – the group’s last guidelines said that high-risk women should not begin screening until age 60
Hospital performance on clinical process measures is associated with the quantity and quality of local economic and human resources. Medicare’s hospital pay-for-performance program may exacerbate inequalities across regions
A new study has found that nursing home patients participating in a program enabling them to record their wishes for end-of-life treatment are far less likely to receive unwanted
Health Reform – overall costs appear modest at this point, split among taxpayers, employers and individuals who directly benefit, although the biggest part of the health care expansion is still four years away
Medicare beneficiaries who use certain durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies could see average price reductions of about 32% off the current cost of those items
Millions are not getting the tests that could save thousands of lives, officials for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The new health coverage for uninsured Americans with health problems won’t be cheap — premiums averaging $300 to $600 a month in the largest states
Massachusetts ambitious, first-in-the-nation plan to transform how hospitals and doctors are paid is on hold, at least for this year
The president’s agenda on health care and financial regulations sets the stage for a clash with the Supreme Court’s conservative majority.
At Bank of America Corp. next year, how much employees make will determine how much they pay for health insurance
The signs can hit you quickly or sneak up on you gradually. But what do you do if Mom or Dad isn’t safe living alone anymore?
Dell is hoping that with ts $3.09 billion 2009 acquisition of Perot Systems, a specialist in health-care information technology, it can use the unit to move up the health care technology food chain
The study — the first to examine whether automated calls can increase screenings for colon cancer — involved nearly 6,000 Kaiser Permanente members in Oregon and Washington who were overdue for screenings
As demand has increased, several hospitals in New York are offering outpatient hospital care late into the night or on Saturdays to alleviate weekday crowding
The individual and employer mandates, combined with the onslaught of new taxes, paperwork requirements and new rules, will dramatically increase the cost of starting and running a small business.
Can Medical Technology Solve the Health Care Problem?
Emergency rooms, the only choice for patients who can’t find care elsewhere, may grow even more crowded with longer wait times under the nation’s new health law
A federal judge is considering whether to throw out Virginia’s lawsuit challenging the health- care overhaul after hearing arguments over whether the state has jurisdiction to sue
How federal regulators interpret a metric known as a medical-loss ratio could affect players from industry giant UnitedHealth Group Inc. down to specialized companies such as American National Insurance
A web site unveiled Wednesday aims to give everyone the full range of public and private health insurance plans available to them based on their individual circumstances
The SEC is investigating whether the companies pushed patients into extra, sometimes unnecessary, home-health care visits in order to hit a threshold level that secured them thousands more in reimbursements
Mercer announced today that it has acquired Innovative Process Administration, LLC (IPA), a privately owned, health and benefits administration technology provider
Last week’s Capitol Hill hearing on the latest MedPAC report offered a sobering reminder of how hard it will be for IPAB to hit home runs in the cost control game
Only about half of hospital chief information officers expect to meet the first set of requirements and apply for those bonuses in 2011, a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers finds
EHealthInsurance, a large online health insurance broker, had once feared that its business might be imperiled by the health care overhaul – but today, the company is looking to profit from the law.
Securities underwriting plunged to its lowest levels since the dark days of the market meltdown amid a sputtering stock market and concerns about the health of European banks
The broader markets’ tumult during the second quarter reverberated across the IPO spectrum, as the pace of offerings slowed from the first three months
After initial optimism that the mergers-and-acquisitions business was back on track, deal making hit a stumbling block in the second quarter
The number of people who appear to be gaming the state’s health insurance system by purchasing coverage only when they are sick quadrupled from 2006 to 2008
Failure to provide additional federal funds for Medicaid, the government’s health insurance plan for the poor, could devastate state budgets, force layoffs and lead to a “double-dip recession”
Two Democratic sponsors of a popular program to treat the nation’s frailest seniors in their own homes are pushing the White House for a quicker launch
New health coverage for uninsured people with health problems won’t be cheap – monthly premiums as high as $900, administration officials said Wednesday
Starting Thursday, Americans who have been denied coverage by an insurer because of a pre-existing health condition can apply for insurance through high-risk insurance pools.
CBO predicted that the national debt would continue rising in the coming decades despite cost-containment measures in the health overhaul
The findings, researchers say, raise the possibility that the so-called “pay-for-performance” initiative could inadvertently worsen existing healthcare disparities
Vita Advisors, LLC is a research-based strategic advisory firm serving the health care industry.
View more tags »