As 2019 takes hold, companies unsatisfied with their health care spend can look to five effective strategies embraced by 2018’s best-performing companies to keep their employees healthy and costs low. The best performers eclipse others when it comes to using best-in-class, cost-effective health care benefit strategies. These companies boast a $3,548 per employee per year… Continue reading WTW: Five Actionable Health Care Strategies that Create a Competitive Edge
Tag: health insurance
Department Issues Cease and Desist Order to Protect California Employers from Unauthorized “Self-Insured” Health Plans
The California Department of Insurance (CDI) issued a Cease and Desist Order effective immediately upon NexGen Insurance Services, Inc., Riverstone Capital, LLC dba Riverstone Capital Insurance Services, LLC and its owner/operators Travis O. Bugli, James C. Kelly and Robert M. Clarke. Parallel investigations by CDI and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) revealed that NexGen… Continue reading Department Issues Cease and Desist Order to Protect California Employers from Unauthorized “Self-Insured” Health Plans
New Rules Could Ease Patients’ Access to their Own Health Records
The Trump administration is proposing steps aimed at improving patients’ access to their own health data, bolstering efforts to bring information including insurance claims, hospital and doctor records to digital devices such as smartphones. Federal health regulators are set to unveil two major proposed regulations closely watched by health and technology companies, amid a growing… Continue reading New Rules Could Ease Patients’ Access to their Own Health Records
Microsoft Aims to Connect Patient Health Records in the Cloud
Microsoft Corp. is releasing a service to help health-care companies move vast amounts of patient data to its cloud and connect with other related systems in a bid to offer clinicians, individuals and researchers a more comprehensive view of patient health. The tool, based on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform and a national standard for exchanging… Continue reading Microsoft Aims to Connect Patient Health Records in the Cloud
Trump Targets Rebates to PBMs to Lower Drug Costs
The Trump administration proposed ending a complex system of drug rebates that influence tens of billions of dollars in U.S. pharmaceutical spending, a move that could upend the relationship between drugmakers and pharmacy benefits middlemen. The proposal, a long-awaited part of the administration’s plan to target high list prices of drugs, would ban rebates paid… Continue reading Trump Targets Rebates to PBMs to Lower Drug Costs
Rate of Americans without Insurance Rises to 4-Year High As Health Law Weakened
The percentage of U.S. adults without health insurance reached a four-year high in the last quarter of 2018, but was still well below the peak level seen before Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act in 2014, a new Gallup survey published Wednesday found. The national uninsured rate climbed to 13.7 percent in the fourth… Continue reading Rate of Americans without Insurance Rises to 4-Year High As Health Law Weakened
CT Insurance Dept. Recoups $8M for Policyholders, Taxpayers
The Connecticut Insurance Department said it recovered nearly $8 million for policyholders and taxpayers in 2018, according to Acting Commissioner Paul Lombardo. Lombardo, serving in place of former Commissioner Katharine L. Wade, on Friday said his agency’s Consumer Affairs Unit handled 6,350 complaints and inquiries in 2018, resulting in over $5.5 million being returned to… Continue reading CT Insurance Dept. Recoups $8M for Policyholders, Taxpayers
States Led by Democrats Press Ahead with Health-Care Expansion Plans
Democratic-led states and cities are moving swiftly to push expanded public health-care proposals following their November midterm victories, drawing criticism from some Republicans and spurring debate over the potential high costs. Since the new year, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who took office this week, has proposed health coverage for more undocumented immigrants and advocated bigger… Continue reading States Led by Democrats Press Ahead with Health-Care Expansion Plans
The $9 Billion Upcharge: How Insurers Kept Extra Cash from Medicare
Each June, health insurers send the government detailed cost forecasts for providing prescription-drug benefits to more than 40 million people on Medicare. No one expects the estimates to be spot on. After all, it is a tall order to predict the exact drug spending for the following year of the thousands of members in each… Continue reading The $9 Billion Upcharge: How Insurers Kept Extra Cash from Medicare
Federal Judge Allows Affordable Care Act to Remain in Effect During Appeals
A federal judge who recently declared the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional stayed his ruling to allow for appeals, keeping the Obama-era health law in effect while litigation continues. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Fort Worth, Texas, wrote in a ruling issued Sunday that he stands by his earlier conclusion that the entire law is… Continue reading Federal Judge Allows Affordable Care Act to Remain in Effect During Appeals