Chris Anderson

The Departments of Health and Human Services and Treasury have proposed new rules to help states receive a State Innovation Waiver under the Affordable Care Act.

The Department of Health & Human Services is granting a waiver to Maine health insurers, giving them three years to meet the 80 percent medical loss ratio required under health reform.

Less than six weeks after announcing plans to explore a merger, Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare and Tufts Health Plan announced they will not pursue the idea any further.

More than $1.3 billion in tobacco settlement funds have been diverted over the past six years from Pennsylvania's adultBasic health insurance program and other health programs to other uses, said state Auditor General Jack Wagner.

Roughly $48 billion of Medicare's $507 billion budget in 2010 went to fraudulent or improper payments, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office.

A report from Moody's Investors Services shows that changes in employee benefits plan designs as well as new medical management techniques such as employee wellness programs are playing a large role in reducing demand for healthcare services.

In a letter to Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer earlier this week, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius informed Brewer that the state does not need an HHS waiver for its plans to remove more than 250,000 people from its Medicaid rolls.

HP Enterprise Services and the Oklahoma Health Care Authority have signed a $281 million, seven-year contract aimed at preparing the state for healthcare reform mandates and making more services available to the state's Medicaid program members.

Women and younger individuals are more likely to seek information on healthcare costs, quality and access after experiencing an increase in premiums or cost-sharing, according to the Employee Benefits Research Institute.

Health plan will market to larger firms