Measures would help patients avoid being turned away by doctors and facing out-of-network costs The heathcare reforms in the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act remain a work in progress, with some of the law’s mandates causing new problems or exacerbating older flaws. One is inaccurate lists of the healthcare providers in insurers’ networks;… Continue reading Two Bills Protecting Patients in Healthcare Networks Deserve Passage

Nexium Costs Program Most The CMS dropped new data Thursday detailing the $103 billion that Medicare’s Part D prescription drug program spent in 2013. The agency said the release was part of the Obama administration’s plan to make the healthcare system more transparent. The data show the names, locations and specialties of physicians and healthcare… Continue reading CMS Unleashes Part D Drug Data

Providence Health & Services saw an improvement in its operating margin in 2014 as it treated more patients and reduced its bad debt, particularly in states that expanded their Medicaid rosters. The Renton, Wash.-based provider operates in five states, three of which expanded eligibility for Medicaid. Its hospitals saw a 26% increase in Medicaid patients… Continue reading Providence Health & Services Gets Boost From Medicaid Expansion

Don’t miss our new Caregiver Connections Newsletter with important information from Shield HealthCare! In this issue: •  Feature Article: Finding Time for Yourself •  Nutrition for Busy Caregivers •  Tips to Prevent Caregiver Burnout •  Words of Wisdom •  Featured Caregiver Story: I Feel Like A Rockstar Every Morning Click here to download the Newsletter in PDF format.

Originally published by Kaiser Health News. Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a nonprofit national health policy news service. By Michael Ollove, Stateline Fifteen states are betting they can convince more doctors to accept the growing number of patients covered by Medicaid with a simple incentive: more money. The Affordable Care Act gave states federal dollars to raise… Continue reading 15 States Extend Health Law’s Higher Medicaid Payments To Doctors

Thousands of families with a disabled or deceased parent may have received a lower subsidy than they deserved to buy health coverage through the federal insurance marketplace as a result of a calculation error by the federal government. In addition, some who should have been eligible for Medicaid may have been turned away, leaving them on the… Continue reading Thousands May Have Been Shorted On Insurance Subsidies After Calculation Error

Technology partnership with PayNearMe fills void for unbanked consumers who need to maintain mandated health insurance coverage but have no credit or debit account Twenty-eight percent of Americans have little or no relationship with a bank, leaving them with limited options when paying for health insurance because most insurance carriers require payment through credit cards,… Continue reading L.A. Care Becomes First ACA Health Plan to Offer Cash Payment Option

New Law to Strip Social Security Numbers From Medicare Cards – Original article published by Robert Pear of the New York Times on April 20, 2015 WASHINGTON — Concerned about the rising prevalence and sophistication of identity theft, most private health insurance companies have abandoned the use of Social Security numbers to identify individuals. The… Continue reading New Law to Strip Social Security Numbers From Medicare Cards

The federal government is holding state leaders’ feet to the fire, hoping to get Texas to expand its Medicaid program to provide health insurance to more low-income Texans. Federal officials called the state’s health agency this week to say that Texas’ reluctance to expand Medicaid — a key tenet of President Obama’s signature health law… Continue reading Feds Warn Texas: Expand Medicaid or Risk Hospital Funds

Only 251 U.S. hospitals receive top ranking on patient experience Just 251 U.S. hospitals got the highest score on a new five-star rating system the CMS rolled out Thursday. The new ratings are part of a broader initiative by the federal agency to use a five-star rating system across all of its Web pages intended… Continue reading New Hospital Rating System Announced by CMS