Chris Anderson
Despite the economic downturn, the number of uninsured children eligible for Medicaid and CHIP programs fell to 4.4 million in 2010, a 10 percent decrease from the 4.9 million who were uninsured in 2008, according to an analysis of government data released recently by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Increased adoption of consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs) and an increased emphasis on employee health management programs helped U.S. employers hold their health benefit cost increases to an average of 4.1 percent in 2012, the lowest average annual increase since 1997, according to a new survey from global consulting firm Mercer.
A new consumer survey of more than 1,200 voters conducted by PwC Health Research Institute (HRI) found that 69 percent want President Obama to make reducing costs his top healthcare priority in his second term.
As many as 31 million Americans now receive healthcare through an accountable care organization (ACO) according to a recent report from industry consulting company Oliver Wyman.
A new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that less than 4 percent of Medicaid beneficiaries who had coverage for at least a year reported difficulty obtaining medical care in 2008 and 2009, this despite more than two-thirds of states reporting they faced challenges in ensuring there are enough Medicaid providers to serve the growing number of beneficiaries.
Nearly a year after providing guidance that broadly defined essential health benefits (EHBs), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday put some meat on the bones with a detailed set of proposed rules that will determine the required components that must be offered beginning in 2014 through all non-grandfathered health plans.
Data released last week for the S&P Healthcare Economic Composite Index shows that the average cost of healthcare services increased 5.06 percent over the preceding 12 months ending in September, a significant drop from the annual growth rate of 5.7 percent reported in August.
In an effort to accelerate the development of innovative care models within their respective health systems, Piedmont Healthcare and WellStar Health System announced earlier this week the joint formation of the Georgia Health Collaborative, the first such organization in the state.
With the intention of forming a collaborative network of 20 non-competing, not-for-profit health systems in the Southeast, WellStar Health System announced yesterday that it had acquired the trade name, trademark and other assets of the bankrupt Center for Health Transformation (CHT), a for-profit think-tank founded by Newt Gingrich.
Talks between West Penn Allegheny Health System and Highmark resumed Monday just a couple of days after a judge ruled last week that Highmark had not breached the $475 million merger deal, effectively barring West Penn from negotiating a new deal with other companies.