Insurance
« Previous EntriesTaking on Blue Cross
Thursday, November 18th, 2010When a Michigan firm devised a plan to help Ford Motor Co. cut costs on physical therapy, it drew fire from the state’s largest insurer – and showed how tough it is to revamp health care. Read more here from the Nov. 10 issue of USA Today…
Employer Health Benefits 2010 Annual Survey
Tuesday, September 7th, 2010The average employee contribution toward premiums for family coverage rose 14% in 2010 to nearly $4,000, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust in a report released September 2. Contributions for single coverage grew 15%. However, the total premium cost – that split by employer and employee – rose…
Anthem withdraws rate hike request
Wednesday, May 5th, 2010California health insurer Anthem Blue Cross canceled rate hikes of as much as 39% for thousands of California policyholders Thursday after state regulators said the plan was “seriously flawed.”
Unchecked Provider Clout in California Foreshadows Challenges to Health Reform
Friday, February 26th, 2010A Web First article from the journal Health Affairs, supported by CHCF, examines the market power of California hospitals and physicians to negotiate higher payment rates. While the high cost of private health insurance has drawn plenty of attention in the national health reform debate, this underlying driver of higher insurance premiums has gone largely…
Poizner Accuses Anthem of More Than 700 Violations of State Law
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010On Monday, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner (R) announced that a year-long investigation by his office found that Anthem Blue Cross of California committed 732 violations of state law between 2006 and 2009, the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Colliver, San Francisco Chronicle, 2/23).
Congress opens probe into Anthem Blue Cross rate increases
Thursday, February 11th, 2010Feb. 10, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) — Congress opened an investigation Tuesday into Anthem Blue Cross’ impending rate increases in California as President Obama cited the premium hikes — some as high as 39% — in his bid to pass national healthcare legislation.
Click here to read the article…
Illlinois ASC Claim Re: Interference with Contracting
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010U.S. District Court Rules Peoria Day Surgery Center Can Pursue Federal and State Antitrust Claims Against St. Francis Medical Center – Denies in Part and Grants in Part SFMC Motion for Summary Judgment
Click here to read more…
When Hospital Fees Catch You Off Guard
Sunday, December 13th, 2009When patients visit some doctors’ offices and urgent-care clinics, they’re increasingly running into something unexpected: billing as though they had gone to a hospital.
The fees, which sometimes amount to hundreds of dollars, can result when hospitals own physician practices, urgent-care centers and other operations . . .
Click here to…
New Rand study on excess health costs
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009In 1960, U.S. business spent 1.2% of their payroll on health insurance. In 2006, they spent 9.9%. The Rand Corporation recently released a study that examined 37 industries from 1987 to 2005 and concluded that excess health care costs are causing significant job losses as well as revenue output losses for many American industries…
Lawsuit against Ingenix and United Healthcare
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009Today, Hooper, Lundy & Bookman, Inc. (HLB) filed a national class action complaint on behalf on non-contracted ASCs across the country, challenging United Healthcare Group’s and other health plans’ misuse of the Ingenix database to knowingly under-reimburse ASCs by millions of dollars over many years.
Read more: Lawsuit against Ingenix and United
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