Reimbursement

In the midst of the exchange evolution, insurers are taking some common but also some diverging paths when it comes to the private HIXs transforming the group market.

Amid the shift to high-deductible health plans, patients are finally getting more convenient options to pay for their health services up front.

Phrases abound for the imminent future of team healthcare. Whether it's accountable care, coordinated care, medical home, or even the uber-approach of patient-centered medical community, the underlying notion is that all caregivers practice at the top of their license to essentially put patients front-and-center.

With population health management becoming a central focus for more healthcare providers, a growing number are considering adding a chief population health officer to the executive ranks.

The breakthrough hepatitits C drug Sovaldi has brought the high price of specialty pharma to recent public attention. But less examined are proactive approaches that could be used to curb the growth trend without depriving patients of needed therapies.

Healthcare companies working for publicly-funded programs have one certainty: they will be serving many more Americans getting public coverage, at the same time they will have to bring down the cost-curve.

If health insurers want to garner new members and keep them well, it may be worth looking internally, at how employees are faring and how managers make decisions.

An estimated three million people currently receive employer health benefits through a private exchange, according to new report released Thursday at AHIP Institute 2014.

Sovaldi has brought high prices of specialty drugs to the fore. Less examined so far are proactive approaches insurers and drug benefits managers can use to curb the growth trend without sacrificing quality or access.

Of the states that built their own health insurance exchanges that are now operational, Washington, Kentucky and Minnesota enjoyed some successes that might be replicated.