Healthcare Finance Staff
Many health insurers have spent close to a century operating under fee-for-service and are now changing course. Some new payers founded post-health reform, however, are trying to hit the value-based ground running.
Of all the things to try to build a better business for in healthcare, the nation's fourth-largest Blue Cross insurer is focusing on one of life's most crucial processes.
Encouraging employer programs for health and prevention with one hand, the federal government is trying with the other hand to stake out a limit to what can be required of employees. And it's getting a bit fractious in the wellness space.
Figuring out when members are covered by different types of insurance can be a struggle, or not even possible. It's a source of waste and confusion that some insurers are trying to root out.
UnitedHealth continued its shopping spree on Tuesday with Optum, the group's technology and services subsidiary, agreeing to pay $600 million to acquire Alere Inc.'s condition management and wellness subsidiaries.
The raison d'etre and central function of health insurers has had a slow time coming into the 21st century. But with both providers and patients demanding a better experience, the impetus for progress could bring a critical mass.
Many years ago, there was a saying in American politics to describe an important bellwether state: "As Maine goes, so goes the nation." Today the state is still an important indicator, especially in healthcare.
Facing the fact that just 5 percent of the patient population was responsible for nearly half of its spending, one health organization has tried some fairly radical changes.
Just as American society's views and acceptance of transgender issues are evolving, insurers are facing choices, challenges and uncertainty in adapting coverage policies for LGBT.
Hospital systems buying up medical practices cite integration efforts and payment reform as a justification. Now, though, payers might rightly be concerned about where the trend can lead at local levels.