Jeff Lagasse

Author's posts

AmeriHealth Caritas offering coverage to former Friday Health Plans members

After Nevada became the latest state to liquidate Friday Health Plans, beneficiaries and insurance officials fretted about placing people into new coverage. In North Carolina, one of the states in which Friday once conducted business, AmeriHealth Carit…

MA membership growth drives strong quarter for Humana

Due in part to “better-than-expected” membership growth in Medicare Advantage, insurer Humana announced in its quarterly earnings call this week that it had logged a strong second quarter, collecting earnings of about $956 million, a 37.8% increase ove…

CMS, Maximus investigating data breach involving personal health information

The Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are responding to a data breach in May in Progress Software’s MOVEit Transfer software on the corporate network of Maximus Federal Services, a contractor to …

UnitedHealth Group sued by U.S. Labor Department over emergency claims denials

The U.S.

Patients more likely to get breast, colorectal screenings if they have Medicare

Patients are 50% more likely to get breast cancer screenings, and twice as likely to get colorectal cancer screenings, once they’re in the Medicare program, according to new findings published by Epic Research.

CMS issues Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System Final Rule

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has issued the final rule updating Medicare payment policies and rates for skilled nursing facilities under the Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System for fiscal year 2024.

AHA, others push CMS to revise prior authorization reform requirements

Industry groups including the American Hospital Association, American Medical Association and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association have sent a joint letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services requesting that the government agency recons…

HHS expanding medical residencies in rural areas

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), has awarded nearly $11 million to 15 entities to strengthen the healthcare workforce by establishing new residency programs in rural comm…

School nurses top list of unhappiest nursing jobs in U.S.

School nurses topped this year’s list of the unhappiest nursing jobs in the U.S. as tracked by Nursing Process, followed closely by hospital staff nurses, emergency room nurses and substance abuse nurses.

Nevada becomes the latest to liquidate Friday Health Plans

Less than a week after Colorado decided to move Friday Health Plans into liquidation, the state of Nevada is following suit, announcing that it would liquidate the insurtech’s health plans in the state and p