Insurance/Benefits

05/22/2013 Bookmark and Share Share Post
Insurance/Benefits

Humana to Open Mail-Order Pharmacy in Irving

Humana plans to open a mail-order pharmacy call center and support operation in Irving in August, and expects to create more than 620 new jobs over the next three years. The pharmacy, called RightSource, is Humana’s pharmacy management company that provides mail-order delivery to members. RightSource – with similar operations in Arizona and Ohio – serves 1.5 million customers and filled nearly 20 million prescriptions in 2012, making it one of the nation’s largest mail order pharmacies. Humana plans to renovate all three floors of a building at 2001 W. John Carpenter Freeway to accommodate operations. The location of LifeSynch,… Full Story

05/21/2013 Bookmark and Share Share Post
Insurance/Benefits

Morning Rounds (05.22.13)

Three North Texas companies and five people have been recognized in this week’s Accolades.

Nearly all U.S. employers who offer employer-sponsored insurance are likely to continue to provide those benefits to workers in 2014.

The Modern Healthcare/ECRI Institute Tech Price Index from this month shows a decrease price in almost every category of top supply items since last year. Full Story

05/21/2013 Bookmark and Share Share Post
Insurance/Benefits

Employers Not Backing Away from Health Benefits

Nearly all U.S. employers who offer employer-sponsored insurance are likely to continue to provide those benefits to workers in 2014, according to the 2013 survey from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP). Many feared firms would drop insurance coverage in 2014 because of Affordable Care Act mandates and the introduction of health insurance exchanges. The percentage increased nearly 98 percent, compared with about 95 percent in its 201 About 4 out of 10 say they will increase emphasis on high-deductible health plans with a health savings account and increase participants’ share of premium costs and increase their focus on… Full Story

05/20/2013 Bookmark and Share Share Post
Government/Law

Morning Rounds (05.20.13)

The Texas Medical Association has elected a Fort Worth physician as its president and a Frisco psychiatrist as its speaker.

The Obama administration has announced a $1 billion initiative to fund health innovations.

About 3 out of 4 physicians say health information technology will improve healthcare quality.

A recent proposal from the CMS would allow patients with hospital stays longer than two midnights to qualify for coverage under Medicare Part A. Full Story

05/19/2013 Bookmark and Share Share Post
Government/Law

CMS Proposes New Policy for Medicare Part A

A recent proposal from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services would allow patients with hospital stays longer than two midnights to qualify for coverage under Part A of Medicare, according to American Medical News. The policy would help beneficiaries who have been having longer stays as outpatients because of hospital uncertainties regarding payments if they admit the patient to the hospital, the CMS stated. Medicare patients face greater cost-sharing responsibilities when they stay longer under observation status rather than being admitted. Some benefits, such as nursing home care, are denied when a patient is in the hospital only under… Full Story

05/16/2013 Bookmark and Share Share Post
Insurance/Benefits

ACOs Top Value-Based Model for Health Plans

Accountable care organizations (ACOs) are expected to be the most pervasive value-based model forhealth plans, according to an Availity report. The report surveyed respondents on their strategy for adopting value-based models such as ACOs, patient-centered medical homes, payment for coordination, pay-for-performance for physicians and hospitals and bundled payments. Nearly 9 out of 10 health-plan executives said they either had implemented or were planning to implement an ACO in the next 12 to 18 months.

05/13/2013 1 comment Bookmark and Share Share Post
Government/Law

CMS Proposes DSH Cuts to Expand Medicaid

The Obama administration proposed a rule Monday that will cut Medicaid spending by reducing disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments from fiscal year 2014 through fiscal year 2020. The DSH payments offer extra funding to hospitals that serve larger-than-average shares of low-income patients and uncompensated-care cases, according to Modern Healthcare. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires $18.1 billion in reductions to Medicaid DSH payments from 2014 to 2020. The cuts seek to offset the cost of increased Medicaid eligibility for legal residents with incomes of as much as 138 percent of the federal poverty level. Currently, federal poverty guidelines list $19,530 as the… Full Story

05/13/2013 1 comment Bookmark and Share Share Post
Insurance/Benefits

Half of Small Business Owners Call ACA Harmful

Nearly half of U.S. small-business owners believe the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will harm their businesses, according to a Gallup poll. That pessimistic outlook is compared with 9 percent who say the health law will benefit their businesses, and 39 percent who expect no impact. More than half also said they believe the ACA will reduce the quality of healthcare for them and their employees, and that they expect to pay more for health benefits to increase because of the law.