Medical Mutual of Ohio said Tuesday it will acquire the 105,000 members in the group and individual health insurance units of HealthSpan Partners.The deal will further consolidate the health insurance industry in Northeast Ohio, where Medical Mutual is already the biggest player. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
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What happened in 2015?Things spiked, like the price for a Daraprim pill, which grew 5,000 percent overnight.Things stopped, like low-volume surgeries at three prestigious academic medical centers.Some things exceeded estimates, such as the price of EHR rollouts, while others fell short, such as the acuity of the physician shortage.
Two new polls show mixed results since the Oct. 1 ICD-10 compliance date went into effect. While a survey by consulting firm KPMG found 79 percent of responding healthcare organizations believe thecode transition has been successful to date, a separate survey of doctors by physician social media network SERMO indicates the new billing codes are taking time away from patient care.
ICD-10 will provide an enhanced platform for physician practice. As of October 1, 2015, the ICD-10 coding classification will become the new baseline for clinical data, clinical documentation, claims processing, and public health reporting. Understanding patient encounters and preparing for the transition will be critical to the financial sustainability of each practice.
Aetna will pay $37 billion cash and stock to acquire Humana, the companies announced on July 3, in what will be the biggest health insurance merger to ever hit the industry.“The acquisitionof Humana aligns two great companies,” saidAetnachairman and CEO Mark Bertolini.
WASHINGTON —They are only four words in a 900-page law: “established by the state.”But it is in the ambiguity of those four words in the Affordable Care Act that opponents found a path to challengethe law, all the way to theSupreme Court.
WASHINGTON —Ending years of last-minute fixes, President Barack Obama on Thursday signed legislation permanently changing how Medicare pays doctors, a rare bipartisan achievement by Democrats and Republicans.The bill overhauls a 1997 law that aimed to slow Medicare’s growth by limiting reimbursements to doctors.
These days it’s not just kids who are scared of the doctor: According to a recent Gallup poll, 33% of people say they’ve put off medical treatment because of the price, the highest level in the 14-year historyof the poll. And it’s not only the uninsured who are concerned: 34% of those with private insurance say they are skipping care.
1) Do I really have Medicare?Once you qualify for Medicare, you have the option to choose a Medicare Advantage Plan. They may offer additional benefits that traditional Medicare does not cover; however, it is important to note that these plans are completely separate from each other.
Attending physicians reported losing an average of 48 minutes of free time per clinic day due to EMRs, according to a research letter inJAMA Internal Medicine.The American College of Physicians administered a survey to internists providing ambulatory care regarding how EMRs affect their time budgeting. Final survey results considered 411 respondents.