Most pollsters have Obama well ahead nationally and in the swing states, with Gallup reporting he has almost reached a double-digit lead.. And after last night's debate, which Obama 'won' handily more independents look to be behind his campaign (although if you watched the alternate-universe-dwelling wingnuts on Fox, you might [...]
By Sarah Arnquist The downturn in the economy, means lots of newly unemployed individuals will be asking what happens with their health insurance. There are a number of online resources to help them understand their options under COBRA. Here are[...]
By Maggie Mahar Each presidential candidate offers a blueprint for health care reform. Neither can expect to see his plan enacted whole—legislators will leave their fingerprints all over any proposal. And, if truth be told, neither plan is perfect. Each[...]
If you've been wondering why your company is paying so much for high-powered pain medications, here's why. Cephalon, manufacturer of Actiq and Fentora, has: "agreed to plead guilty to promoting off label use of its painkiller Actiq--which was widely used for purposes outside of its original FDA approval--as well as [...]
Two statistical “events” catalyze a lot of health reform debate every year: the Census Bureau’s annual estimate of those without health insurance, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) actuary’s estimate of the percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) devoted to health care. We can argue about whether [...]
Over the past ten days, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Mass. Hospital Association have both issued reports on health plan performance in Massachusetts. The state's report - issued by the Massachusetts Division of Insurance - focuses on health plan administrative spending and health care claims costs from 2002 through [...]
Hurricanes, both meteorological and financial, may well bring an end to what has been one of the softest of markets. Gustav, Ike, and their to-be-named seasonal relatives have hammered the reinsurance markets, with Lloyd's of London recently announcing losses totaling $12 - $18 billion for the season's first two major [...]
At the behest of readers and clients, I've been working to get some answers from Aetna on what exactly the 'restructuring' of their workers comp business division means for customers and prospects. I'm not having much luck. I'd note that many AWCA customers learned of the restructuring of AWCA from [...]
Last week's post on Connecticut hospitals' temper tantrum elicited no public comments but quite a few private ones. Several payers were rather upset that their bill repricing/network vendors have not been applying the laws correctly, resulting in higher payments than the law requires. The issue of 'fiduciary responsibility' and liability [...]
Editor’s Note: Last week Health Affairs published critiques of the health plans put forward by Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (IL) and Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (AZ). Health Affairs also published a third paper outlining a way that the best aspects of the two plans might be [...]
Editor's Note: The post by Dennis Cotter below addresses the way in which Medicare should incorporate erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (epoetin) into its composite-rate payment for end-stage renal disease treatment. Watch for subsequent posts on this topic from Amgen and others. Statement of the problem. The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization [...]
FactCheck is one of my favorite all-time 'helpers'. They do a lot of the digging and checking so we can know what's right and what's BS. And most of the time they get it right. Yesterday they didn't. FC took Obama to task for an ad that, according to Igor [...]
Aetna is restructuring Aetna Workers Comp Access, Aetna's workers comp network subsidiary. Sources indicate AWCA's president,Pat Scullion, sales boss Tom Shivers, and operations head Shawn Fisher were terminated yesterday in what insiders are calling 'a complete surprise to them'. AWCA has become the de facto network for Coventry Health's workers [...]
By Jane Sarasohn-Kahn "Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation,"[...]
By Charlie Baker A few months ago, the MA Division of Health Care Finance and Policy (DHCFP) released a study that showed that mandated health insurance benefits cost insurance purchasers about $1.3 billion - or 12% of their premiums -[...]
Jon Coppelman of Workers Comp Insider fame has a very funny take on how Hank Greenberg would have led AIG's executive session discussion of the $75 billion loss. Jon's talent is lost on us here; he clearly needs a literary agent![...]
Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and Merrill Lynch were here one day and gone the next. Their rapid, almost-overnight disappearance from the world wide financial landscape is as stunning as the collapse of the Twin Towers. Solid as concrete and steel, their permanency wasn't even questioned until days before they were [...]
Some hospitals in Connecticut are throwing what amounts to a temper tantrum. They are outraged that workers comp payers are actually paying them according to state law. Strange, but true. Sources indicate that Yale-New Haven Hospital and their affiliates have informed several payers that it will no longer accept their [...]
A few months ago, the MA Division of Health Care Finance and Policy (DHCFP) released a study that showed that mandated health insurance benefits cost insurance purchasers about $1.3 billion - or 12% of their premiums - each year. Thanks to DHCFP for publishing the study. This issue is always [...]
Notwithstanding our excellent spam control program, I get tons of broadcast emails sent to me as CEO of a hospital, selling all kinds of services -- but especially services related to coding patient treatments to get the highest payment from insurers and Medicare. I suppose this is just a sign [...]
In all the commentary and discussion about the source of AIG's problems I've yet to read or hear what may be the most important contributor - the company's culture. There's no question AIG was long considered one of the world's best run insurance companies. AIG is legendary for its intramural [...]
