Payers news and information

As millions of Americans began to shop in newly created markets for health insurance, a new study of health plan choice in Massachusetts found major shifts in its health insurance market after the state set new rules that limit consumer options.
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U.S. Senate leaders have agreed on a deal acceptable to the White House to end the government shutdown and temporarily raise the nation's debt ceiling, with almost all healthcare provisions stripped out. The deal would fund the government at current levels through Jan. 15, continuing the budget...
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The Obama administration's internal projections called for strong enrollment in the states in the first year of new health insurance markets, according to unpublished estimates obtained by the AP.
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Americans submitting their applications for Medicaid through the federal government's online insurance marketplace in 36 states may want to contact their state Medicaid agencies for faster results.
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A new MGMA survey finds that more than half of physician practices say they had not yet decided whether they will participate in health plans sold on the new state insurance exchanges.
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Maryland has submitted a plan to the federal government to modernize the state's all-payer rate setting system for hospital services, Gov. Martin O'Malley announced Friday.
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Hospitals spend less on operations—largely by squeezing labor costs—to make up for lost revenue when Medicare cuts hospital prices, according to a new study.
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Many healthcare providers and payers are moving forward with patient-centered medical homes to improve primary care and care coordination and reduce costs, despite mixed research evidence of the cost-effectiveness of this major delivery system reform.
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The Defense Department's on-again, off-again flirtation with the Veterans Affairs Department's VistA electronic health-record system appears to be on again. But this time, a lot of other suitors will compete for the military's affection and what likely will be billions of taxpayers' dollars.
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The nation's healthcare law was written with the residents of rural counties like Choctaw in Oklahoma in mind. A quarter of the Oklahomans who live in the ranch country near the southeastern corner of the state are uninsured, one of many reasons their health ranks near the bottom of Oklahoma's 77...
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