Effective immediately, Health Net will not be quoting any more new business for small and large business health plans.
Health Net stated in a letter to brokers:
We want you to know that Health Net will honor all current group contracts and continue to provide high quality service to our members. Employer groups and members will...
For patients without smartphones, staffers at participating physicians' offices can schedule their rides for immediate pickup or dropoff up to 30 days in advance.
Rather than operating through an app, Uber Health will send passengers their ride information via text message. Drivers, however, will still locate and pick up riders...
The 2019 budget requests hits insurer and payer hot spots including ACA Medicare risk corridor payments and cost-sharing reductions, uncompensated care payments, Medicare post-acute care costs and even graduate medical education.
Trump’s proposal outlines his administration’s priorities – Congress makes the decisions.
Budget...National News
In a Washington Post opinion piece, the CMS Administrator shares her vision.
Verma begins:
Americans are among the most generous people in the world. While this nation was founded on the pursuit of a shared dream, the moral pledge of the American people has been to never leave behind our most vulnerable fellow citizens.
Our aim is...Arizona News
Kentucky will be offering a novel way to reactivate your medical coverage: a health or financial literacy course you must pass.
The waivers approved by the Trump administration present opportunity for new ways to think about how to empower individuals to improve their health.
The precise content of the courses is not yet worked...National News
Centene is an insurer that offers individual health insurance under its Ambetter brand in 15 states.
The lawsuit outlines a number of instances where Ambetter enrollees have had difficulty finding a doctor, have had to travel for health care, have been denied care that they thought was covered and in-network, or have relied on...Arizona News
Trump administration to permit requirement to work if states seek it.
The Arizona Daily Star reports Arizona is one of 10 states that have submitted applications to add work requirements for the government health insurance program for low-income people.
The state’s Medicaid program, called the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment...National News
A major shift in the 50-year-old program, the guidelines will set the conditions for allowing states to add work requirements to their Medicaid programs, bringing a conservative twist to the health insurance program for the poor.
The Hill reports the changes represent the vision of Seema Verma, the administrator of the Centers for...Arizona News
PCCN's network of 1000 physicians can be available to 50,000 enrollees in UnitedHealthcare's Medicaid health plans.
No stranger to accountable care organization arrangements, more than 15 million people are enrolled in UnitedHealthcare plans across the country with care delivered in part through more than 800 accountable care...Arizona Comings & Goings
Snyder brings 20 years of public and private sector health care experience to her new role.
She has been serving as the Medicaid director for the state of Texas in the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, overseeing a $29 billion program serving 4.7 million people. At AHCCCS she will oversee daily administrative and program...National News
The American population aged 65 and older is expected to more than double from 46 million today to more than 98 million by 2060.
This growth, along with the increasing number of people with disabilities and dementia in a crisis of housing affordability, will have profound public health and housing implications...Arizona News
She spoke to the plenary session of the National Association of Medicaid Directors (NAMD) Fall Conference in Arlington, Virginia.
Verma unveiled new CMS policies that encourage states to propose innovative Medicaid reforms, reduce federal regulatory burdens, increase efficiency, and promote transparency and accountability. A CMS...
The complaint alleges that Epic refused to adjust its billing software after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services changed the way hospitals bill for anesthesia, prompting hospitals that use its software to improperly bill Medicare and Medicaid.
The whistleblower in the lawsuit, Geraldine Petrowski, worked as a compliance...
Payment reform is critical to building a health care system that results in better accessibility, quality, affordability, empowerment, and innovation.
The Health Care Payment Learning & Action Network (LAN), is a public-private partnership launched in March 2015 to drive adoption and alignment of Alternative Payment Models...Arizona News
This afternoon at the State Medicaid Advisory Committee’s (SMAC) quarterly meeting, AHCCCS Director Tom Betlach briefly announced the resignation of Beth Kohler, Deputy Director of Arizona's Medicaid program.
“I think you all know that unfortunately Beth is leaving us,” said Betlach, speaking solemnly of her departure....National News
Matt Salo, executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors, sees a newfound public awareness and appreciation of the safety-net health insurance program.
Now the real work will move back to the states, which can push efforts to bolster the program to be more value-driven, holistic, and better coordinated for the...National News
Moody's Investor Services notes 2016 expenses grew faster than revenues.
“Tighter margins will weigh on the sector going forward as reimbursement pressures and expenses increase.”
After years of cost containment, annual expense growth of 7.2% widely outpaced annual revenue growth of 6.0%.
Pension funding gaps...National News
After failure of "Repeal & Replace" measures, Harvard researchers examine the state of public opinion.
The New England Journal of Medicine published a report analyzing 27 national opinion polls by 12 survey organizations. It provides a look at four critical issues relevant to the previous House and recent Senate health care...Arizona News
Lawmakers could not shrink Medicaid - waivers can.
Medicaid is a $500 billion program with unprecedented growth the past four years and now covers 75 million people.
Josh Archambault, senior fellow for the conservative Foundation for Government Accountability, said without congressional action on the health bill “the...
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will make a decision "soon" on which bill to bring up for a vote, depending on ongoing discussions with GOP senators.
GOP leaders are determined to vote this week on their years-long quest to demolish the Affordable Care Act, even though the goal remains mired in political and substantive...
