Healthcare Finance Staff
A new study suggests that hospitals with higher nurse staffing levels may have lower odds of being penalized for readmissions.
With consumers in 36 states struggling to access a federal exchange website to compare health plans, the Obama administration launched a new online tool Thursday that lets users see premium estimates by state, health plan and two age categories.
In states that don't expand Medicaid eligibility, thousands or even millions of low-income Americans may find themselves in a new healthcare donut hole: too rich for Medicaid and too poor for insurance tax credit subsidies.
A non-health wonk relative emailed me recently:
"Can you tell me in very brief terms, why the far right is so much against the Affordable Care Act? To me, it makes good long-term economic sense, is immensely beneficial for the health and welfare of those currently without insurance, and puts us in sync with other advanced societies. I just don't get the opposition."
Almost 50 million Americans were uninsured as of 2011 and, what's more, a projected 71 million are expected to purchase insurance between now and 2018 via the new health insurance exchanges.
Never has Medicaid been in such a state of flux, with dozens of new policies evolving in the states in response to delivery and financing challenges, as millions more Americans join the program.
Physician group practices are hesitant to participate in the health insurance exchanges because they worry about payment collections and lower reimbursement rates, according to research from the Medical Group Management Association.
Humana Inc. is testing the use of an enhanced medical alert system with its Medicare Advantage members to prevent serious long-term effects of medical emergencies and falls.
Amid what the Kaiser Family Foundation calls "some of the most significant changes to Medicaid since its enactment," California Medicaid policy is evolving at perhaps the quickest pace, trying to manage the $55 billion in annual spending.
The quality of care that patients receive in a hospital varies by the type of insurance they have or their lack of insurance, researchers have found in a study in the latest issue of Health Affairs.