Reimbursement
The bipartisan, 17-member commission recommends freezing skilled nursing facility payment rates for two years while the payment system is revised.
The new research indicates that 65 percent of patients saw a physician who had received an industry payment over the previous 12 months.
These requirements add to the ongoing controversy about whether all nonprofit hospitals do enough to deserve a tax break.
Final open enrollment figures show 83 percent took advantage of premium tax credits.
Attorneys say $54 billion merger would not create the $2.4 billion in cost savings the companies say.
HSA provider HealthEquity has seen its share of prices rise by about 35 percent since the November election.
Humana, Cigna fix image problem for statements that once did more to confuse than inform consumers.
Commercial plans are following Medicare's lead, but physicians need more flexibility, experts say.
When patients are given multiple options to satisfy their financial obligations, the ability to pay their bill becomes more manageable.
Seniors often found out only when they got surprise bills for the services Medicare doesn't cover for observation patients.