Reimbursement

Amid an intense debate about the cost and value of drugs, a big payer and a big pharma company are promising to comb through their collective evidence and deliver new knowledge that may improve patient outcomes.

Here's a look at some recent headlines in the world of healthcare finance.

Despite the many Medicare reform initiatives the ACA is sweeping in, Republican leaders in Congress say there are just as many areas of Medicare that are broken, chaotic and in need of change.

A population healthcare model in Mississippi that use telehealth technology to help curb the worst of diabetes has achieved early success and caught the attention of the state government.

The 2015 open enrollment is off to a pretty good start and the new market is working, federal officials insist, but for consumers and insurers, there is still a tough slough, albeit of a different sort.

CMS appears to recognize the significant challenges that many ACOs have faced in the Medicare Shared Savings Program, and has proposed a number of changes to the financial performance tracks for ACOs participating in the program.

With many health information exchanges showing mixed success, the impetus to start digital patient data sharing is increasingly falling on payers. Some of Colorado's largest insurers are heeding the call.

Media attention about fines for business practices is one of the last things an insurer wants during open enrollment, but one state Blues is now faced with the task of damage control.

Payers are following the mobile craze with apps to attract and ideally better serve customers. That can be a fraught pursuit, opening insurers to scrutiny and raising questions about the very experience they're trying to offer.

Improving healthcare for the nation's Medicare-Medicaid dual eligible population seems to be just as complex as the beneficiaries' health needs, so state leaders are seeking help and more flexibility from the feds.