Transamerica announces the addition of a full-service absence management solution for employers. The new service simplifies disability and absence administration,…
"We are excited to introduce this new critical service to our employer clients," said John Stanley, Senior Managing Director of Workplace Employee Benefits at Transamerica. According to the Social Security Administration, one in four of today's 20- year-old workers will become disabled at some point in their careers before reaching full retirement age.
So Kritzman knew getting breast cancer“ wasn’ t a matter of if, but when.” When she was 65, she got a mammogram. Ten years later, Kritzman, of Newington, is alive and well and a prominent activist on behalf of people with breast cancer. She is rejoicing this week, as a bill that she helped promote was passed by the Connecticut General Assembly.
Something strange happened between the time Linda Griffith signed up for a new Medicare prescription drug plan during last fall’ s enrollment period and when she tried to fill her first prescription in January. “I didn’ t pick it up because I thought something was wrong,” said Griffith, 73, a retired construction company accountant who lives in the Northern…
To the editor: I retired on December 17, 2021. I filed for Medicare Plan B on November 8. I faxed it to the Ogden Social Security Administration office.
The Mississippi Today website reported last week that Blue Cross "has accumulated far more than what regulators require to protect consumers, and perhaps the largest such surplus by percentage of any Blue Cross company in the country." That is about eight times the amount of backup cash that regulators require, and four times what Blue Cross requires from state…
Something strange happened between the time Linda Griffith signed up for a new Medicare prescription drug plan during last fall's enrollment period and when she tried to fill her first prescription in January. But instead of the $70.09 she expected to pay for her dextroamphetamine, used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, her pharmacist…
Millions of U.S. seniors were supposed to get price relief soon on their prescription drugs under a revamp of Medicare fees by a federal agency. The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services delayed proposed changes until 2024 at least. The trade group for PBMs– the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association– applauded the deal.
Some Illinois residents say they’ re still having trouble getting free at-home COVID-19 tests from pharmacies and insurance companies, more than three months after the White House began requiring insurers to cover them. But it’ s still not always that easy— a problem that comes as Illinois case numbers are again rising, prompting many people to again seek…
–Aflac Incorporated, a leading provider of supplemental insurance products in the U.S., today announced the launch of its newly redesigned Aflac Group Critical Illness Insurance to help employers better support the changing needs of their valued workers in a post-pandemic environment. Aflac's redesigned Group Critical Illness Insurance is a…

HealthCalifornia Opens Medi-Cal To Older Unauthorized Immigrants
On Sunday, California will open Medi-Cal to older immigrants residing in the state without legal permission. Unauthorized immigrants over age 49 who fall below certain income thresholds will become eligible for full coverage.
WASHINGTON, April 29– Public Citizen issued the following statement:. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General released a report today, which found that Medicare Advantage plans deny needed care that should be covered to tens of thousands of people a year. Eagan Kemp, health care policy advocate for Public Citizen, released the…
AUSTIN— Texas leaders announced Thursday that the state will direct $435 million of federal COVID-19 money to the Teacher Retirement System of Texas. During the session, the state allocated about $286 million to help cover COVID-related health claims and keep premiums down. Joan Huffman, chair of the Senate Finance Committee.
A Florida woman pleaded guilty today to laundering $735,695 in money stolen from Medicare, Medicaid, and private health insurers as part of a sprawling health care fraud scheme in Miami. These companies– BF Distributors Corp, Timely Medical Services Corp., Ortho-Med Solution Inc., Expedited Medical Supplies Corp., and Prime Orthopedic Solutions Corp– were…

Rollout Of Most Ohio Medicaid Reforms Pushed Back To End Of 2022
Medicaid, government-paid health insurance for more than 3 million low-income or disabled Ohioans, is typically the state’s largest expenditure totaling billions of dollars.
"It seems like this new phased approach still allows them to move forward with everything, but in a way that is manageable… to maybe take smaller bites of the apple," said Loren Anthes, who chairs Community Solutions' Center for Medicaid Policy. According to the Ohio Department of Medicaid, one of those reforms will still be up and running in July.
New research from The Hartford, a leading provider of workers’ compensation and disability insurance, finds 71% of employers feel the deteriorating mental health of their workforce is having a negative financial impact on their company. In addition, 34% of U.S. workers reported feeling depressed or anxious at least once per week in 2022– up from 20% in 2020..
New data obtained by The Gazette show costs for a COVID-19-related stay at the state's largest hospital— which likely has seen the highest number of hospitalized coronavirus patients in Iowa throughout the past two years— reached an average of tens of thousands of dollars. The average cost of care for a COVID-19 patient hospitalized at the University of Iowa…

Hospitals Prepare To Pick Up Tab For Uninsured COVID-19 Patients
After sending some $19 billion to hospitals and other health care providers nationwide, the fund known as the Health Resources and Services Administration COVID-19 Uninsured Program has dried up.