EmblemHealth is required to cover gender reassignment surgery and pay $250,00 in civil rights penalties to the state after the attorney general reached a settlement with the nonprofit insurer.
Category: Modern Healthcare
Farm bill opens door to refinancing indebted rural hospitals
Congress passed its farm bill, which could significantly restructure rural hospitals’ debt. The hospitals hope it will be a first step to a pay overhaul that could prevent closures.
Editorial: The Great Moderation in healthcare spending continues
For decades, demographers and economists have predicted the gray tsunami of aging baby boomers would inevitably push healthcare spending over 20% of GDP. But a new paper highlights some recent trends suggesting the future may not be as bleak and…
Arkansas Medicaid work requirements add new option: phoning it in
Facing mounting criticism over its Medicaid work requirement, Arkansas will allow enrollees to report their compliance with the mandate over the phone rather than solely through an internet portal.
Cleveland Clinic to increase minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2020
Cleveland Clinic plans to increase its minimum wage for the “overwhelming majority” of its workforce to $15 per hour by 2020, CEO Dr. Tom Mihaljevic announced on Wednesday.
Obamacare sign-ups down 550,000 as deadline nears
HealthCare.gov sign-ups lag by more than a half-million with less than a week left in open enrollment. Last-minute shoppers and a surge of auto-enrollments should boost the finally tally, but enrollment is likely to fall short of the previous year.
Blue Shield’s trims to out-of-state coverage give some Californians the blues
Blue Shield of California has quietly scaled back the national Blue Card program that has allowed its members to receive a range of services out of state in an effort to reduce costs.
Blues antitrust case just got tougher for the insurers
A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurers must defend themselves against a major class action case accusing them of anticompetitive practices on much less favorable legal grounds.
Chicago hospitals team up to help entry-level workers advance careers
Lurie Children’s Hospital, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Rush University Medical Center and UChicago Medicine are looking to promote employees in non-clinical positions.
DOJ joins whistle-blower lawsuit against Sutter Health
The U.S. Department of Justice has intervened in a whistle-blower lawsuit against Sutter Health that accuses the health system of submitting unsupported diagnosis codes to inflate its Medicare Advantage payments.
