Reimbursement

CMS plans to cut payment for 60-day care episodes by nearly $81, or 1.72 percent. The agency said the proposed rule would save the government $380 million.

Individual marketplace plans are in for huge rate increases next year, some fear, but the ACA markets so far suggest that many organizations, including provider-owned plans, are holding the line, according to researchers with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Urban Institute.

Not only are many hospitals getting sizable federal drug discounts, some may be over-prescribing, according to the Government Accountability Office.

The case against Blue Shield of California's tax-exempt status is growing, presenting an additional $40 million to the tax bill, but also the possibility of more drastic state action.

With Aetna's market share set to balloon next year after its takeover of Humana wraps up, the insurer is trying to assuage health systems that might fear greater reimbursement pressure.

While individual premium proposals for 2016 are still pending, data from the ACA exchange markets offer a backdrop to next year's double digit increases.

An old Yankee insurance company is taking over the younger, Louisville-based Humana. It's a deep dive into Medicare, government-funded health plans and new ways of delivering and paying for healthcare.

If the $37 billion cash-and-stock deal is approved as a whole by regulators, Humana will bring Aetna's membership to more than 33 million.

Gynecologists ordered fewer preventive services for women who were insured by Medicaid than for those with private coverage, a recent study found.

For the 2014 benefit year, over $7.9 billion in reinsurance payments will be made to 437 issuers nationwide.