| HCPro Health Plan Insider - May 5, 2010 | Health Insurers Banking on Baseball
|
View as a Webpage | Subscribe for Free |
 |
 |
Health Insurers Banking on Baseball
Les Masterson, for HealthLeaders Media
No matter which sports team you follow, you have most likely seen health insurance advertisement in your favorite stadium, ballpark, or arena. It could be the Highmark ads on the boards in the Pittsburgh Penguins' Mellon Arena, the Kaiser Permanente ads on the outfield walls at Dodger Stadium, or the Emblem Health ads on the upper decks of the New York Mets' Citi Field. Expect this kind of health insurer outreach even more over the next decade. [Read More] |
 |
| |
May 5, 2010 |
|
 |
|
|
Editor's Picks
|
For WellPoint, math error spurs more scrutiny
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is urging state regulators and lawmakers to investigate whether WellPoint Inc. made mathematical errors in justifying sharp rate increases around the country. In a letter being sent to state insurance commissioners and governors, Sebelius calls for a national inquiry into the data underpinning rising health-insurance costs. Sebelius is seizing on WellPoint's decision last week to withdraw a request for up to 39% price increases on individual plans in California after an actuary hired by the state found several mistakes in the filing, the Wall Street Journal reports.
[Read More]
Federal Early Retiree Reinsurance Program Starting Earlier
The Department of Health and Human Services has announced it is moving up by three weeks the start of the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program?to June 1, 2010?from the date initially required by the new healthcare reform law. The temporary program is designed to make it easier for employers to provide coverage for early retirees age 55 and older who are not currently eligible for Medicare. This program will end in 2014, when early retirees will be able to choose from additional coverage options through the health insurance exchanges.
[Read More]
18 states refuse to run insurance pools for those with preexisting conditions
Eighteen states have said they will not administer a program to provide insurance coverage to people whose preexisting conditions have left them uninsured. At issue is a provision to extend temporary relief to people with preexisting medical conditions beginning this year, instead of making them wait until 2014, when insurers will be prohibited from turning people away or charging higher premiums based on health status. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told state officials in April that she wanted to build on state programs, and she asked state governments to let her know by April 30 whether they would run the pools at the state level.
[Read More]
Breakthroughs: The Impact of Personalized Medicine Today
Take a look at how progressive health systems, medical researchers, and physicians are working together to bring the practical benefits of personalized medicine to the frontlines of healthcare delivery. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, The Ohio State University Medical Center, Partners HealthCare, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center share insights and the lessons learned that will help you explore the current and near-term impact of personalized medicine, determine whether your healthcare information technology foundation is ready for the opportunity, and see where lab research and clinical practice are overlapping.
[Learn More]
|
|
Managed Care Headlines
|
Free clinic not a cure-all
Los Angeles Times, May 5, 2010
Will Generation X lead the way to healthcare change?
Wall Street Journal Health Blog, May 5, 2010
Vermont Considers Its Own Single-Payer System
Elyas Bakhtiari, for HealthLeaders Media, May 4, 2010
Healthcare stocks slide after WellPoint cancels rate increase
Los Angeles Times, May 3, 2010
| Sponsored Headlines from IBM
|
Mayo clinic radiology process transformation
| |
Best practices in complex patient care decisioning
| |
Smarter healthcare virtual scenario
| |
Providing better healthcare through smarter collaboration
| |
IBM Study: Leveraging the Value of Portal Solutions
| |
Providing better healthcare through smarter collaboration
Webcasts/Audio conferences
May 13: Integrated Compensation Plans to Enhance Physician Performance
May 19: Five Proven Steps to Improve Patient Satisfaction Scores
June 2: Seamless Systems of Care: Better Alignment, Coordination, and Outcomes
|
Stay Connected to Health Plan Insider
|
To help us ensure future delivery of Health Plan Insider, please add our "From" address—health_plan_insider@list.hcpro.com—to your address book or e-mail whitelist.
| |
|
|
|
| Audio Feature |
The State of HSAs
Martin Trussell, senior vice president of business development at First Horizon Msaver, a leading provider of health savings accounts, talks about the state of HSAs and how health reform will affect them. [Sponsored by Emdeon] [Listen Now] |
| Audio Feature |
Strategies for Reducing Drug Spending
Find out how Virginia Commonwealth University Health System saved $2.5 million annually from their outpatient drug spending by working with a nonprofit group to qualify more patients for their appropriate prescription benefits and reducing their drug purchase costs through bulk purchasing. [Sponsored by Emdeon] [Listen Now] |
|
|
|
|
| Health Plan Forum |
Senate Panel: Insurers Spending Too Much on Overhead
Health insurers' medical loss ratios in many markets are still falling far below the minimum levels of what they will need to spend under health reform signed into law last month by President Obama. These new medical-loss ratio floors go into effect on Jan. 1, 2011, according to a new report released by the chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. [Read Now] |
|
|
|
|
| From HealthLeaders Magazine |
Putting the Consumer in Charge
The relationship between insurers and their members has been traditionally cool—at best. On the positive side, consumers see health insurers as the faceless entity that pays for their care and, more negatively, the companies that reject paying for care. The consumerism movement in benefit design has shifted more costs and decision-making to individuals. By 2020, members will have even greater responsibility for their healthcare. Members will need to become better healthcare consumers. Health insurers see the transformation coming, and leaders are preparing. [Read More] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
