U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) news and information

A dozen providers in a low-income part of the country will receive $5.4 million in federal funding to address a number of chronic conditions that affect residents there at a more frequent rate compared with the rest of the country.
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Many private and public health insurers are violating federal rules for the rapid electronic handling of queries for information about patients' coverage, according to insurance claims transmission experts.
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With the complicated state health insurance exchanges going live in October, CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner has a lot to think about at the end of the day.
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“I bet you more people could tell you the name of the new prince of England than could tell you that the health market opens Oct. 1.”—HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius
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The cost of connecting one health information technology system with another remains a significant barrier to achieving the national goal of a computerized and interconnected healthcare industry. Healthcare providers complain that they often pay high fees...
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While state-run health insurance exchanges have reported that premiums for 2014 health plans generally will be lower than for comparable 2013 products, congressional Republicans and others have questioned whether that will hold true for exchanges in the 35 states where the federal government will...
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Funding cuts are blocking investigations into Medicare and Medicaid fraud and the data security of the new health-insurance exchanges, among other items at HHS' top watchdog agency.
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For the first time in history, federal health officials said Friday they will ban certain types of Medicare and Medicaid providers in three high-fraud cities from enrolling in the tax-payer funded programs for the poor as part of an effort to prevent scams.
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Stepped-up federal funding resulted in more seniors receiving training in how to stop Medicare fraud in 2012, but the latest annual survey of the $20 million program shows it produced $134,000 in actual savings.
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Unbeknownst to millions of Americans who seek health and fitness help on their computers or smartphones, bits and pieces of their personal, sensitive health information are loose on the Internet.
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