Health Savings Account Membership Up 18 Percent
Enrollment in聽health savings accounts grew 18 percent last year as employers continued to steer workers into high-deductible medical plans, an insurance聽group said this morning. HSA membership rose from 11.4 million in January 2011 to 13.5 million in January 2012, with most聽of the growth occurring聽in plans offered by large employers,聽according to an annual census by America’s […]
These Health Law Bets Aren’t A Figure Of Speech
The stakes are high in the Supreme Court’s consideration of the 2010 health law, as countless commentators聽have observed. In some circles, however, the gambling metaphor has been pushed to its logical conclusion. Bernstein Research stock analyst聽Ana Gupte laid 50 percent odds recently聽on聽chances that the court will strike down the Affordable聽Care Act’s聽individual mandate along with strict […]
Health Care Employment Continues Growing Faster Than Other Sectors
Health-care employers continued hiring at a brisk pace last month even as overall employment growth slowed down, today’s jobs report shows. Hospitals, doctor offices and other medical employers added 19,000 jobs in April. That represents a sixth聽of the total April increase of 115,000 jobs, even though health care聽makes up only 11 percent of the employment […]
Conflicts Arise As Health Insurers Diversify
When a health insurer buys a business that helps hospitals win billing battles with insurers, alarm bells should sound, experts say.
Growth In Health Costs Limited As Americans Avoid Hospital Stays
Americans continued to seek moderate聽amounts of medical care in the first quarter, helping聽insurer UnitedHealth Group聽beat profit expectations amid signs of continued restraint聽in health-care spending. In an early look at medical-cost trends for 2012, the nation’s biggest private insurer said today聽that an increase in聽outpatient treatments聽from January through March was partly offset by a lack of growth […]
Health Care Hiring Boom Projected To Continue, Regardless Of Law
Health-care employment will continue to grow much faster than employment generally,聽with聽the number of jobs in home care and other ambulatory settings projected to jump more than 40 percent by 2020, a new study suggests. New figures from the Labor Department highlight an聽expected hiring shift away from hospitals, as the system puts greater emphasis on preventive […]
2010 Insurance Rebates Would Have Hit $2 Billion, Study Says
Consumers would have received rebates of聽nearly $2 billion — in some cases as much as聽$300 a聽member —聽if the health-law cap on insurance profits and overhead had been in place in 2010,聽estimates聽a new study. The paper,聽published Thursday by the Commonwealth Fund, makes no predictions about the rebates聽that insurers will be required to pay this year for […]
Insurers Push Back On Consumer Rebate Letter
Consumers owed rebates will get a letter along with a check beginning in August, but insurers don’t want to have to send notices about the rebate rules to customers not owed money.
Health Industries Weigh In On Supreme Court Case
Insurers, hospitals and drug makers all cut deals to help shape the health law. Now, as the Supreme Court awaits arguments, the industry groups are deploying different strategies to defend their interests before the High Court.
New Insurer-Hospital ACO Touts Early Success
Illinois’ largest hospital system and biggest health insurer agreed in late 2010 to form an聽accountable care organization,聽a network in which the聽organizations would cooperate to boost quality and restrain cost increases, sharing in any savings.聽Chicago-based Advocate Health Care gambled聽that its portion would compensate for聽the lost revenue from the resulting empty beds. Now, with聽six months of operating […]
