Chris Anderson
In a stunning blow to opponents of the Affordable Care Act, the United States Supreme Court today ruled in a 5 to 4 vote that the most reviled portion of the health reform law -- the so-called individual mandate requiring all Americans to buy health insurance or face a fine -- is constitutional, since it falls within the power of Congress to impose a tax.
The healthcare economy is expected to grow at twice the rate of the national economy between now and 2020 and will create an additional 5.6 million jobs over those eight years, according to a report released by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.
The U.S. Department of Treasury late last week proposed regulations aimed at aiding patients gain access to financial assistance at charitable hospitals while also providing protection to patients from overly aggressive payment collection in the ER.
Already running one of the largest ophthalmology practices in the country, Henry Ford Health System announced last week that it has agreed to merge with the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology (DIO).
A study released last week by the non-profit healthcare consumer advocacy group Families USA found that in 2010, 26,100 people between the ages of 25 and 64 died prematurely due to a lack of health insurance.
According to a recent industry survey by business intelligence and revenue cycle software provider Craneware, more than 60 percent of hospital executives believe effective revenue integrity programs are essential to the financial health of their organizations.
The American Medical Association's fifth annual National Health Insurer Report Card shows that the number of medical claims paid incorrectly by the nation's largest health insurers was cut in half last year, down to 9.5 percent of claims.
Western Pennsylvania's largest health insurer Highmark took another step toward building a comprehensive provider network in the region with the announcement this week of a $275 million commitment to Jefferson Regional Medical Center.
People in CDHPs may not have easy access to cost, quality data
A recent study by RAND researchers published in the journal Health Affairs indicates that consumer-directed health plans could save $57 billion annually if they grew to comprise 50 percent of all employer-sponsored health insurance in the U.S. But are health plans delivering the kind of information people using these plans need to truly direct their own healthcare decisions?
Health insurer Florida Blue has teamed up with Miami-area providers Baptist Health South Florida and American Medical Specialties (AMS) to launch an accountable care organization (ACO) that will focus only on oncology treatment.