Author's posts
$50 million in CMS grants to go to healthcare access for school children
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, will be doling out $50 million in grants for states to connect millions more children to healthcare services, particularly for mental health, at s…
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts postpones anesthesia policy
On January 1, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts implemented a policy that would have limited coverage of monitored anesthesia care for certain patients receiving colonoscopies and other endoscopic procedures. But due in part to pushback from the …
Humana posts $541 million loss in Q4, blames high Medicare Advantage costs
Despite logging $26.6 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2023, insurer Humana posted a $541 million overall loss, pinning much of the blame on a higher-than-anticipated increase in Medicare Advantage costs.
Optum Perks eyeing Rx costs with telehealth solution
Prescription provider Optum Perks is launching a new telehealth solution offering low-cost care and prescription treatments for hundreds of conditions ranging from acne to a cough to high blood pressure.
The offering is meant to address the cost burden…
HHS promoting access to contraceptive care
The Department of Health and Human Services is renewing a push to protect and expand contraception access, sending a letter to Medicare plans, health insurance issuers, and state Medicaid and CHIP programs about upholding their obligations under federa…
AHA says Medicare payments to long-term care hospitals are inadequate
A change in Medicare payments to long-term care hospitals (LTCHs) may result in such hospitals incurring ever-increasing losses while threatening beneficiaries’ future access to care, according to a new white paper published by the American Hospital As…
UHC debuts resource hub in bid to expand wellness programs, lower costs
UnitedHealthcare is debuting a new resource hub designed to help simplify the process for employers of selecting and purchasing health programs for employees. The idea is that members will have an easier time using wellness offerings while employers wi…
Cigna leadership changes expand top executives’ roles
Health insurer Cigna is shaking up its leadership structure by expanding the roles of its top executives, saying the move was designed to continue accelerating growth across Cigna Healthcare and subsidiary Evernorth Health Services.
Seventy percent of physicians work on vacation, contributing to burnout
Most physicians – about 70% of them, in fact – work on their days off and during vacations, while about 20% of physicians took less than one week of vacation during the previous year, research in JAMA Network Open has found.
Blue Cross NC acquiring FastMed locations in urgent care expansion
Blue Shield and Blue Cross of North Carolina is expanding its urgent care presence in the state, having officially closed a deal to nab 55 FastMed urgent care clinics, which the insurer said was meant to address the lack of providers in rural areas.
An…
