Healthcare Finance Staff

Healthcare insurer Aetna has created Aetna Innovation Labs to focus on ways to improve patient outcomes by leveraging data and best practices.

Now that the Department of Health and Human Services has decided on the new ICD-10 deadline, one reality not to be overlooked is that October 1, 2014 is a mere two years away.

HHS finalized October 1, 2014 as the deadline for ICD-10 compliance on Aug. 24. In so doing, the agency sparked widespread relief across the industry.

Highlighting a potential solution to a problem plaguing parts of the industry, a new study provides evidence suggesting that point-of-care case management can reduce patient hospital readmissions and also pay for itself.

California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, Nevada, New York, and Vermont have received new grants to help them build health insurance exchanges, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced on Thursday.

Healthcare services provider Metropolitan Health Networks is buying two primary care practices in Palm Beach, expanding the company's already-large foothold servicing Medicare members and hinting at its future goals. 

Medicare- and Medicaid-focused health insurers continue to be the most sought after dance partners of the acquisition ball, as evidenced by yesterday's announcement that Aetna would purchase Coventry Health Care in a cash and stock deal valued at $5.7 billion.

Health insurers are embracing social media, mobile health applications and even games as they position themselves for accountable care and try to encourage their members to take more interest in their wellness, according to a new report from Chilmark Research.

In late August, Highmark opened its ninth Highmark Direct retail store in an Erie, Pennsylvania shopping plaza, highlighting a trend that is "about to accelerate dramatically," the consulting firm Oliver Wyman predicts, as more Americans buy health insurance on the open market or in government-mandated exchanges and employer-provided insurance declines.

Employer-sponsored health care is at a crossroads, with myriad financial challenges, legal uncertainties and the result of the 2012 election weighing heavily on company decisions about healthcare benefits, according to a new Deloitte issue brief.