Health care cost increases to slow

The growth in total costs for health care services is typically used by insurers to set insurance premiums. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) While costs are rising faster than inflation, the projected increase pales in comparison to the double-digit spikes seen in the early 2000s. It’s also slightly less than the 7.5% increase PwC estimated for 2013. Continue reading

Health care costs to slow in 2014

Total costs for health care services, including everything from doctor visits and prescription drugs to surgeries, are expected to rise 6.5% in 2014, when the Affordable Care Act fully kicks in, according to a report released Tuesday. While costs are rising faster than inflation, the projected increase pales in comparison to the double-digit spikes seen in the early 2000s. It’s also slightly less than the 7.5% increase PwC estimated for 2013 Continue reading

7 States With the Highest Health Care Costs

While many focus on the cost of health insurance premiums, relatively little media attention is being given to the actual cost of health care itself. According to the latest data available from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, the annual cost of health care in the U.S. (excluding insurance premiums) is $6,815 per person Continue reading

Truven Health Analytics Professional Receives Accredited Health Care Fraud Investigator Credentialing

ANN ARBOR, Mich.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Truven Health Analytics, formerly the Healthcare business of Thomson Reuters, announced today that Kristine Knutson, senior analytic consultant, is the latest member of the Truven Health staff to have earned the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Associations (NHCAA) unique professional credential: Accredited Health Care Fraud Investigator. Knutson joins the growing rank of Truven Health employees who have earned AHFI credentials Continue reading

Cigna's unlikely to change Chinese health care

By Charles P. Wallace Ma Weihua, CEO of China Merchants Bank, and Cigna CEO David Cordani in China last year. FORTUNE — (SHANGHAI) By 8 a.m., Renji Hospital, founded in 1848 by Western missionaries and still one of China’s best medical centers, is already in a state of chaos. Continue reading

American Workers' Health Care Costs Increase Again

The family health care tab shows no sign of shrinking. On average, according to the latest Milliman Medical Index (MMI), a family of four covered through a typical employer health plan will pay out $9,144 this year in premiums and out-of-pocket expenses. That’s up about 6.5 percent over 2012, though not as much as the prior year’s increase of 7.2 percent. Continue reading

Health Care Providers Beta Testing New URAC Accreditation for Clinical Integration

Washington, DC (PRWEB) May 08, 2013 Several organized physician groups are beta testing URACs new clinical integration accreditation program standards. URAC, an independent accreditation organization advancing quality and value throughout health care, created the new program to serve as a roadmap for health providers to achieve clinical integration and accountable care. By earning URAC accreditation, providers will demonstrate they are delivering improved patient care and reducing costs. Continue reading

Health care tax credits: Eligibility and economic impact

Ann Battenfield’s healthcare coverage has so far been expensive and inefficient. The Affordable Care Act could change her life — and the lives of millions in similar situations. WASHINGTON, May 8 — President Barack Obama made expanding the pool of insured Americans and guaranteeing coverage for those with pre-existing conditions cornerstones of his health care reform effort. Continue reading

States fear loss of health care aid

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. State officials say thousands of people with medical problems are in danger of losing coverage as the Obama administration winds down one of the earliest programs in the federal health care overhaul Continue reading

Oregon Medicaid Study Points Out Failings of U.S. Health Care

Rick Bowmer / AP Ora Botwinick examines Dahlia Arbella, 5, at the North Portland Health Center in Portland, Ore., on June 18, 2012 Among all the criticisms of President Obamas health care reform law, the most salient may be that the Affordable Care Actfocuses on access to insurance at the expense of cost and quality care. A new set of results from a study on Oregons Medicaid program supports this critique and offers a window into the broader shortcomings of the U.S Continue reading

Joppel Website Helps Universal Health Care Medicare Members Find New Health Insurance Coverage in Wake of Recent …

ORANGE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– The recent filing for bankruptcy by Universal Health Care has left 37,500 Florida seniors scrambling to find new health insurance before their window to make a choice closes on May 31. In response, the nations premier online resource designed to help seniors select the right health insurance coverage has established a special hotline to help with this urgent need. Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Universals Medicare Advantage plans are understandably concerned about their coverage and urgently in need of a new Medicare plan, said Kyal Moody, senior vice president of Joppel. Continue reading

The Reason Health Care Is So Expensive: Insurance Companies

As Congressional budget battles heat upor roll along, depending on your time perspectivethe cost of health care in America receives a lot of attention. Unfortunately most of the discussion is largely off the mark about where the preventable, unnecessary costs really are. Continue reading