Health Plan news from FierceHealthFinance
News
2007 hospital stays cost $55.9 billion; Health plan premiums up 5 percent in '09;
> New data from 2007 concludes that there were more than 4.7 million hospitals stays among adults aged 55 years to 64 years, totaling $55.9 billion, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research... Read more...
Let's face the truth about the public option: For now, it works
Establishing a government-run public health plan to compete with private health plans may be a great idea, or the model may truly be rife with those nasty "unintended consequences" its opponents like... Read more...
Schumer: Public health plans should follow commercial rules
Despite the rising tide of support for public health plans, heaven knows there are forces allied to push back. In a bid to appease some of those forces, notably the members of the health industry... Read more...
Health plan bureaucracy steals doctors' time from patients
A new survey by the Texas Medical Association concludes that dealing with health plan bureaucracy--particularly collections--steals doctors' time with their patients. Doctors said they're worried... Read more...
Medical-loss ratio requirements a bad idea
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm actually very sympathetic to legislators who are considering rules that would require managed care companies to spend a minimum of premium dollars on care rather than... Read more...
Retail clinics get high marks in cost savings study
According to a new study, retail clinics are cheaper for patients than going to a primary care physician's office. The study, published in the journal Health Affairs and conducted by Dr. Lief Solberg... Read more...
WellPoint pushes stock prices up, but not profits, by raising premiums
Five months ago, Angela Braly, the CEO of health plan giant WellPoint, told investors that the plan could turn around falling profits by Read more...
Amerigroup's $225M fine may not benefit providers
Last week, Medicaid health plan Amerigroup agreed to pay $225 million to settle charges that it... Read more...
N.J. Blue plan files to go for-profit
New Jersey's Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield has filed with the state to convert from not-for-profit to for-profit status, in what it says is a bid to boost its financial options. In its filing... Read more...
WellPoint loses money for Q2, but still pleases investors
Giant health plan WellPoint had what most financial types would consider a tough second quarter, with earnings falling 10 percent and its overall profit predictions for 2008 falling. Still, given... Read more...
