New customers to the health insurance marketplace in southwestern Pennsylvania will have more than 35 different plans to choose from. And physicians who treat those patients may have no choice but to keep track of all 35 plans -- each with its own coverages, co-payments and deductibles. That's just one of the administrative headaches that physician practices may face when the marketplace coverage under the Affordable Care Act starts Jan. 1. "It's going to be very confusing to the patient and to the physicians," said C. Richard Schott, a Philadelphia-area cardiologist and president of the Pennsylvania Medical Society in a phone-in media briefing Wednesday.
Luis Veloz wasn't going to wait for the federal government to work out the kinks in its website before enrolling in the nation's new health insurance system. Instead, he rushed to fill out a paper application and mailed it in, eager to have a plan that would prevent him from racking up major medical bills like his parents. As Texas residents encountered difficulties with the website for a second day, those trained to assist with the process said callers are simply asking for a nearby location where they can complete the process the old-fashioned way: in person and on paper.
Prompted by the Highmark-UPMC battle, two Pittsburgh-area lawmakers want to introduce legislation requiring hospitals such as UPMC's to contract with "any willing insurer." The contract between Highmark and UPMC expires at the end of 2014, meaning if the two don't arrive at a new contract before then, many Highmark customers won't have access to UPMC doctors and hospitals. The bills have yet to be introduced to the House; co-sponsors Dan Frankel, D-Squirrel Hill, and Jim Christiana, R-Beaver, will discuss them at a Harrisburg news conference this morning.
Amid growing healthcare consolidation as Obamacare rolls out, UC Irvine and MemorialCare Health System have agreed to a partnership deal. The UC Board of Regents said Wednesday it has approved an affiliation between UC Irvine Health and MemorialCare, two major hospital systems in Southern California. It's not a merger and both will remain independent. In California and nationwide, many hospitals and physician groups are joining forces to improve their negotiating clout with employers and insurers. In particular, insurance companies have been narrowing their provider networks to hold down costs and big health systems don't want to be left out.
Three Western Maryland health systems said Tuesday they have signed a letter of intent to form an alliance as they prepare for changes in the way hospitals deliver care under health reform. The alliance formed by Frederick Regional Health System, Meritus Health and Western Maryland Health System will explore ways the hospitals can partner to better care for patients and find cost savings in ways such as combining management and clinical services. The systems have not yet formalized the affiliation and are not bound until final documents are approved by their boards. The health systems began discussions collaborating earlier this year and completed a feasibility study by Berkeley Research Group in June.
Millions of Americans visited new online health insurance exchanges as enrollment opened on Tuesday, suggesting a broad national appetite for the affordable coverage that President Obama has promised with his health care law. But many people quickly encountered technological problems that prevented them from getting rates, comparing health plans or signing up. Federal and state officials said that while they knew there was pent-up demand for health coverage, the number of visits to their exchanges was greater than anticipated. Federal officials said more than 2.8 million people had visited HealthCare.gov, the federally run exchange that serves residents of more than 30 states, though the figure would include those who received error messages.