Source: LifeHealthPro The Internal Revenue Service (IRS)is trying to help employers that have been snoozing understand the coming wave of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) group health mandate penalty bills. You may have been obsessing about minimum essential coverage (MEC) and Internal Revenue Code Section 6055 employee counting requirements for years, but the […]
Read moreSource: MarketPlace There are few things as flat out baffling as a medical bill. And that matters more and more as many of us end up paying out of pocket to cover our health costs. But there’s a chance these pages of gobbledygook may soon do the unexpected and explain what we owe. On Monday […]
Read moreSource: San Diego Union-Tribune Health insurers and patients could safely save many billions of dollars annually by swapping out a more expensive drug for a less expensive generic in the same class of drugs, according to a study published Monday. The suggestion goes beyond the common practice of substituting a generic drug for a brand-name […]
Read moreSource: State of Reform As proposed health insurance premium rates for 2017 are being filed with state insurance departments across the country, actuaries are providing an early look at what’s driving changes in premium rates for 2017 within the Affordable Care Act (ACA) individual and small group markets. A new issue brief produced by the […]
Read moreSource: The New York Times WANT to spend more quality time with your doctor? Maybe you should try joining a group. Paradoxical as that may sound, it works remarkably well for Bill Swain, 69, who began going to shared medical appointments several years ago after his doctor suggested the idea. Now he attends quarterly sessions […]
Read moreSource: Boston Globe If people know how much health care services cost, they’ll shop for the best prices and spend less — or so the theory goes. That’s why the Massachusetts law intended to lower costs included a requirement that doctors, hospitals, and insurers provide cost estimates. But a Harvard Medical School study published Tuesday […]
Read moreSource: Bloomberg To patrons of the Rum Boogie Cafe in Memphis, he’s Mick, a skilled guitarist with a bushy white beard who favors fedoras and sings soulful tunes about fishing and drinking. To Americans outraged by pharmaceutical prices, he just might be the guy to blame. Not that they would know him. While Mick Kolassa […]
Read moreSource: LifeHealthPro Picture this scenario: A MetLife home and auto policyholder visits Amazon’s site over a two-month period to purchase products for a newborn on the way including food and clothing, a baby crib, stroller and wireless monitor. Before an agent from Metlife learns of this coming “life event,” an Amazon call center agent, shopping […]
Read moreSource: Los Angeles Times Heart disease, cancer … and medical errors? A new tally of mistakes made in American hospitals suggests that medical errors are the No. 3 cause of death in the U.S. At least 250,000 deaths each year can be attributed to medical care that has gone awry, according to a report published […]
Read moreSource: San Francisco Chronicle When it comes to signing up customers, Covered California has been a success. But when it comes to serving customers, the independent public agency — now in its third year of helping individuals and small businesses get federally subsidized or free health insurance — still has growing pains. While the insurance […]
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