Reimbursement
A new study by the National Center for Policy Analysis shows that states and the federal government could save $33 billion in prescription medication costs by switching to models used by Medicare and other private payers.
Aetna has announced a collaboration with Mindbloom, a Seattle-based social media company, that will offer plan members an enhanced version of Life Game, Mindbloom's online social game for personal wellness.
Fifteen percent of U.S. nursing homes receive deficiency citations for infection control each year, according to a new study.
The Thomson Reuters Healthcare Spending Index for Private Insurance showed that costs to people covered under employer-sponsored health insurance rose at a rate of 5.8 percent last year, which was down from 6.6 percent in 2009.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services told Florida officials it could not extend the state's current managed care waiver for Medicaid to a statewide program. The pilot program, granted a waiver to run in five counties in 2006, has been the model for recent efforts by the state to reform its Medicaid program.
Leaders of the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care have said they are alarmed over aspects of the Medicare skilled nursing facility (SNF) payment rule issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services last Thursday.
There are significant issues and potential concerns that hospital-based practices should be aware of with respect to ICD-10 implementation. By preparing early however, practices can alleviate several operational and budgetary issues.
Community Health Systems, locked in a bitter hostile takeover bid for rival Tenet Healthcare, publicly defended itself Thursday, calling Tenet's allegations of improper patient admission practices "contrived and biased."
The Department of Health and Human Services has launched a new initiative that will reward hospitals for the quality of care they provide to Medicare beneficiaries. HHS officials said the program would also help reduce healthcare costs.
CVS Caremark expects to complete its $1.25 billion acquisition of the Medicare Part D business of Universal American on Friday - a deal that would more than double CVS Caremark's Part D business.