Secretary of Health Dr. Karen Murphy is urging the commonwealth’s U.S. Congressional delegation to consider the effect that repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) could have on all Pennsylvanians, especially children and seniors in need. [Read more…]

Discern Health has announced their affiliation with Mai Pham, MD, MPH as a Senior Advisor. Mai most recently served as Chief Innovation Officer at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI). Among other achievements at CMMI, Mai spearheaded development and implementation of the alternative payment model (APM) portion of MACRA, which will fundamentally change the way that Medicare pays for physician services. [Read more…]

International Medical Group® (IMG®), a leader in global benefits and assistance services, has named Craig Peters as chief revenue officer (CRO). [Read more…]

Hospitals and health systems in New Jersey have already absorbed nearly $1.5 billion in funding cuts since the Affordable Care Act was enacted in 2010, with the promise of expanded healthcare coverage to mitigate these losses. As the 115th Congress advances legislation to repeal major provisions of the ACA, healthcare providers are concerned the cuts will remain despite the coverage of 796,291 state residents being jeopardized. [Read more…]

The President and CEO of the Senior Care Pharmacy Coalition (SCPC) today predicted the increasingly apparent role of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) as unaccountable middlemen in the national drug pricing chain will result in a higher level of scrutiny from Congress, regulators and the media in 2017. [Read more…]

The Permanente Medical Groups serving Kaiser Permanente members and patients across California received 5-star ratings for overall performance — the highest recognition possible by the California Office of the Patient Advocate — in the second annual Medical Group Report Card for Medicare Advantage Members. [Read more…]

Insurance Commissioner Teresa Miller today reminded Pennsylvania consumers that the open enrollment period for 2017 health insurance coverage available through the federal marketplace at www.Healthcare.gov closes at 11:59 p.m. on January 31. More than 413,000 Pennsylvanians are currently enrolled in plans for 2017. [Read more…]

To help people affected by breast cancer understand and prepare for changes to healthcare insurance policies that might affect them, Living Beyond Breast Cancer (LBBC) has created a Healthcare Newsroom on LBBC.ORG. [Read more…]

Milliman, Inc., the premier global consulting and actuarial firm, has published six questions for consideration by healthcare stakeholders about the Trump Administration’s recent executive order, which gives a sweeping command to the leaders of the new administration to unwind certain aspects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA)—especially those components deemed “burdensome.” It remains unclear how the Trump Administration will implement this authority, especially due to the interconnected nature of the ACA, but given Milliman’s comprehension of the law, several key questions arise. [Read more…]

MailMyPrescriptions.com has entered into an agreement with Alliance HealthCard of Florida, Inc. Alliance HealthCard of Florida, Inc., a division of Aon Benefit Solutions, Inc., an Aon subsidiary (NYSE: AON), will make mailmyprescriptions.com available to America’s Health Care Plan/RX Plan Agency, Inc. (AHCP) owned by National General Insurance Company (NASDAQ: NGHC). [Read more…]

Alere Inc. (NYSE: ALR), a global leader in rapid diagnostic tests, has provided an update on the decision by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to revoke Arriva Medical’s Medicare billing privileges. [Read more…]

ReWalk Robotics Ltd. (Nasdaq: RWLK) (“ReWalk”), the leading global exoskeleton developer and manufacturer, announced today the donation of a ReWalk Personal 6.0 System to Daniel Timms, who sustained a spinal cord injury (SCI) in 2012 in a parachuting accident. Thanks to a number of generous donors, Walkabout Foundation, a London-based not-for-profit organization that donates wheelchairs to disadvantaged individuals worldwide and supports critical research in paralysis, was able to provide the device for Mr. Timms. [Read more…]

WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire certain assets, including Medicaid membership and certain provider contracts, from Phoenix Health Plan (PHP), a wholly owned managed care subsidiary of Tenet Healthcare. PHP provides health benefits primarily to more than 50,000 Medicaid beneficiaries as of Dec. 1, 2016 in Maricopa County, Arizona, the state’s largest geographic service area. [Read more…]

Harmony Health Plan, Inc., a subsidiary of WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG), gave $10,000 to Kidz Korna to help make the holidays special for thousands of children living in Chicago’s low-income communities, such as Englewood, Bronzeville, Roseland and the Westside. [Read more…]

Chubb today announced that Graham Lambourne, currently Global Clients Claims Manager, Europe has been promoted to the role of Head of Multinational Claims for Overseas General Insurance. [Read more…]

Finding a replacement for Obamacare that their colleagues will support may prove to be an impossible task for Republicans on Capitol Hill, says a health economist familiar with the obstacles involved. [Read more…]

Apollo Medical Holdings, Inc. (“ApolloMed” or “the Company”) (OTC: AMEH), an integrated population health management company, and Network Medical Management, Inc. (“NMM”), one of the largest healthcare Management Services Organizations (MSOs) in the United States, have announced that they have signed a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which the companies will combine in a stock-for-stock merger transaction. [Read more…]

Holiday stress can be a pain in the neck…and the teeth, warns Delta Dental. If too much family time or the mad dash for last minute gifts causes you to grind or clench your teeth, be aware that it can cause your teeth to ache, wear down, become loose or even crack. Headaches, pain or soreness of your neck and jaw muscles, and clicking, popping and pain in your jaw joints are also possible side effects. [Read more…]

Medicare’s star ratings of hospitals fail to provide the public with an easy comparison of the quality of inpatient care provided. An analysis by J. Graham Atkinson, D.Phil., Jayne Koskinas Ted Giovanis Foundation for Health and Policy (JKTG) executive vice president for research and policy reveals the biases inherent in the rating system along with conceptual problems in the design of the method used to combine individual quality scores. [Read more…]

NextHealth Technologies Inc., a prescriptive analytics and consumer engagement platform that measurably reduces medical costs for health plans, announced that David H. Klein has joined its board. As a CEO with over 30 years of experience managing health plans and delivery systems, Mr. Klein brings extensive experience in strategy, operations and policy. [Read more…]

WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) announced that its employees are giving back to the Tampa Bay community this holiday season by volunteering with Tampa-based, social-service agency Metropolitan Ministries, which provides life-changing support to those who are homeless and at risk of becoming homeless by assisting them with food, clothing, shelter and other vital services. [Read more…]

Emerge, an online platform that reimagines how consumers purchase emergency insurance, has announced that its site is live and ready to educate individuals and help them avoid the risk of medical debt. [Read more…]

Veterans Deserve Care, a grassroots coalition committed to reducing wait times in VA facilities, applauded a decision by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to finalize a rule allowing veterans to receive high-quality care by providing direct access to nurse practitioners. [Read more…]

The City of Fort Worth (the “City”) is pleased to announce the expansion of its member healthcare coverage offering starting January 2017 through Employer Direct Healthcare’s SurgeryPlus®, a supplemental benefit for non-emergent surgeries that provides higher quality care, a better experience and lower costs. [Read more…]

The Pennsylvania Medical Cannabis Industry Group (“PAMCIG”) has partnered with Next Wave Insurance Services, LLC (“Next Wave”), which is backed by top rated insurance and reinsurance carrier partners providing comprehensive insurance coverage nationwide. The partnership between the largest marijuana trade association in the state and the leading provider of property and casualty insurance will bring a valuable solution to the potential applicants for Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana industry. [Read more…]

GetInsured, a market leader in individual health insurance ecommerce, announced recently that it has acquired Array Health, a leading provider of group health insurance ecommerce technology. Together, the companies will make it possible for insurers, employers, state governments and benefits brokers to deliver a superior consumer experience through a single, scalable ecommerce solution that supports group, individual and Medicare health enrollment. [Read more…]

The U.S. business group of Sun Life Financial has released a study titled “Voluntary Benefits: An Unknown but Needed Option,” illustrating that due to health care costs continuing to rise, American workers need to adequately understand what voluntary benefits are. [Read more…]

AMSUS, The Society of Federal Health Professionals, announced the creation of a new board, the Executive Advisory Board (EAB), during its Annual Meeting in Maryland recently. [Read more…]

The Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare — a coalition of home health providers dedicated to improving the integrity, quality, and efficiency of home healthcare for our nation’s seniors – recently urged Congress to pass the Pre-Claim Undermines Seniors’ Health (PUSH) Act of 2016 to provide more time for implementing a Medicare home health pre-claim review policy to ensure Medicare and home health agencies are prepared to manage the process and maintain continuity of care for home health beneficiaries. [Read more…]

Research shows old age is seen as a problem, worries about healthcare and social services and people not prioritising or doing enough to prepare for their own retirement. Research conducted by Chase de Vere, the national firm of independent financial advisers, paints a depressing picture of increasing longevity in the UK. [Read more…]