By Rebecca Vesely November 16, 2009 For the 25,000 low-income Hoosiers on a waiting list for Indiana's health insurance program, there might be some good news in the next few weeks. Indiana has about 4,000 slots opening up in its popular Healthy Indiana Plan. ... FULL STORY
By Rebecca Vesely November 09, 2009 Major employers are struggling to bend the cost curve on healthcare expenditures, and increasingly turning to cost-shifting and prevention/wellness programs to keep their workers' medical costs from spiraling out of control. ... FULL STORY
By Shawn Rhea October 19, 2009 Elliot Health System President and CEO Doug Dean doesn't tell a happy story about his hospital's foray into the world of managed care some 15 years ago. ... FULL STORY
By Jennifer Lubell September 21, 2009 As members of Congress roll up their sleeves to complete the huge task of reforming the healthcare system, there's little confidence that the final package will contain a permanent fix to Medicare's formula that sets payments for physicians. ... FULL STORY
By Rebecca Vesely August 17, 2009 Answering questions during a webcast earlier this month, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius sought to clear up some confusion about how the Obama administration is proposing to reform healthcare. Would consumers continue to have health insurance choices under the proposed system? “No one will be forced into any plan,” Sebelius responded. “A new health insurance exchange will have consumers choosing options.” ... FULL STORY
By Rebecca Vesely July 20, 2009 At a nationally televised town hall meeting on healthcare reform last month, President Barack Obama was asked whether he would pay out-of-pocket for care if a close family member was extremely ill and the treatment was not covered by insurance. ... FULL STORY
By Jennifer Lubell June 15, 2009 Galichia Heart Hospital in Wichita, Kan., recently decided that it could break into a market monopolized by overseas hospitals—and offer high-quality, more-convenient care to patients. In conducting research of medical tourism options in other countries, “we visited hospitals in Singapore, India and the Philippines—the biggest areas drawing Americans,” says Steve Harris, the 85-bed hospital’s CEO. ... FULL STORY
By Rebecca Vesely May 18, 2009 The longstanding practice of gender rating by health insurers—charging women higher rates than men for the same plan—is getting fresh scrutiny as lawmakers work to reshape the health insurance system. ... FULL STORY
By Rebecca Vesely May 18, 2009 Listening to health insurers and employers lately, COBRA starts to sound like a fitting name for the federal program that allows laid-off workers to extend their employer-sponsored health benefits. Like the eponymous snake, the COBRA program is lying in wait, ready to strike at profit margins, some health plans are warning. ... FULL STORY
By Rebecca Vesely May 11, 2009 Three health insurers will no longer offer Medicare Advantage private fee-for-service, or PFFS, plans starting next year, indicating that tighter federal regulations for these controversial plans, which go into effect in 2011, are causing insurers to rethink this line of business. ... FULL STORY
