News
The healthcare reform bill is far from settled, but its current state is placing great emphasis on how benefit products are designed, according to an industry analyst.
While legislation is a moving target, payers need tools that will serve both consumers and their employer groups, said Janice Young, research director for Health Industry Insights.
ChoiceLinx, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cigna with two primary product lines, is gaining traction in this market.
With the group-based market continuing its decline, payers are turning their attention to the growing individual plan market.
In order to capture that business and engage consumers, payers need to build a direct-to-consumer online capability, which is cost-efficient and can be implemented fairly quickly, said Nancy Sansom, spokeswoman for Benefitfocus.
Historically, payers aggregated data for actuarial purposes or for their sponsoring employer groups' use. Today, data is in greater demand across the industry.
The demand for sharing data with providers and members is creating a big shift in data warehousing, said Dane Iverson, vice president of information management for WellPoint.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma (BCBSOK) is launching its patient-centered medical home (PCMH) in early 2010.
With Oklahoma's growing primary care physician shortage and its bottom five national ranking of their ratio per capita, the payer is looking for ways to impact quality of care while expanding its provider footprint.
The Public Campaign Action Fund has named Sens. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as "insurance puppets" for their stances on healthcare reform.
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing says enrollment in entry-level baccalaureate nursing programs increased by 3.5 percent from 2008 to 2009, despite the fact that almost 40,000 qualified nursing applicants were turned away this year.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and David Blumenthal, MD, the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, have announced $235 million in grants supporting non-profit organizations and local governments that can exemplify the positive impact of healthcare IT on population health.
Abington Health, a not-for-profit, regional healthcare system, has been formed to serve the Montgomery, Bucks and Philadelphia counties of Pennsylvania.
Independence Blue Cross' healthcare information technology capabilities helped the company land a new health benefits contract with Lincoln Financial Group, IBC executives announced Thursday.
The West Penn Allegheny Health System reported its second consecutive quarterly profit, demonstrating what it calls "continued improvement in revenue, operations and liquidity" in the first quarter of fiscal year 2010.