Chelsey Ledue

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is making several proposals to refine Medicare payments to physicians under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, which is expected to increase payment rates for primary care services.

Full-practice automation seems to pay off for many small physician offices, but others who choose only select areas to convert are feeling the positive financial effects as well.

Emergency departments at many hospitals have been overwhelmed in the past year, as more patients without health insurance use the ED as a primary care solution.

According to the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample, the largest all-payer emergency department database in the United States, uninsured persons accounted for nearly one-fifth of the 120 million hospital-based emergency department visits in 2006.

WellPoint, Inc., Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida and Healthcare Service Corporation, which operates Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, will collaborate to provide access to WellPoint's cost comparison tool.

American Community Mutual Insurance Company has introduced its own proprietary medical provider network in Ohio, claiming it will save policyholders an average of 5 percent on medical premiums.

Obesity may cost the United States as much as $147 billion annually, based on a new study from RTI and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A new survey has fund that senior citizens are making drastic cuts to their medical and food budgets due to the recession.

A patient-centered medical home pilot project that could become a model for South Carolina has completed its first quarter with 1,110 patients enrolled.

An expected $2 billion growth in the prostate cancer drug market though 2018 will be driven principally by the launch of emerging therapies in the metastatic hormone-refractory population, most notably Dendreon's Provenge, according to Decision Resources.