Menin told the Daily News she expects to introduce the bills to the Council as soon as they’ re drafted— most likely within the next two weeks— and described the issue as one“ that impacts every single New Yorker.”. “Patients are left with little to no knowledge about how much they’ re going to be charged for procedures that they desperately need,” Menin told the Daily News.“…
Health/Employee Benefits News
WICHITA, Kansas— Federal pandemic programs that buoyed health insurance rates nationwide in 2021 didn't ultimately lead to an increase in coverage in Kansas— meaning that, for the first time in decades, Kansans are significantly less likely to have health insurance than the U.S. population as a whole. As millions of Americans lost jobs and with it their…
The AARP, which had lobbied for the changes, reported in the September AARP Bulletin that the Inflation Reduction Act, as Democrats dubbed the measure, could save older Americans billions of dollars in drug costs. According to the AARP, the new law will set an annual limit of $2,500 for out-of-pocket drug costs for about 50 million Medicare enrollees who have Part…
I am pleased that the Ohio Department of Medicaid acknowledged concerns, reevaluated, and decided not to proceed. Ensuring the effectiveness of the daily operations of the Ohio Department of Medicaid is a significant task. The Ohio Department of Medicaid is also in the midst of an overhaul of the program's operations as many significant reforms are set to…
Wisconsin’s Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) has released a report evaluating enrollment in the Affordable Care Act Marketplace,…
New CMS proposed regulations now will require everyone who helps enroll consumers into Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare Part D to record and store all Medicare-related calls for up to 10 years.
Only one of the eight health insurers operating in Colorado showed they would meet the requirement to reduce monthly premiums for all customers buying the new standardized health plans known as the "Colorado Option"— though it's possible more will before the state signs off on their final rates next month. Unlike a true public option, the Colorado Option plans…
Sep. 19— Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana was awarded the contract to be the third-party administrator for medical benefits and claims administration for the state of Montana Benefit Plan, Montana Department of Administration officials said. The contract, effective Jan. 1, will result in nearly immediate savings for the self-funded State Plan in 2023,…
Maryland State Insurance Commissioner Kathleen A. Birrane announced the premium rates approved by the Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA) for individual…
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Beccerra to probe possible Medicare fraud by the HCA Healthcare chain. "I write regarding alleged fraud and staffing issues at HCA Healthcare facilities," Chairman Pascrell writes. Because of its mammoth size, HCA sets the pace for both for-profit and not-for-profit hospitals in the United States.
CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, Ill.– "I feel like this is a real slap in the face to teachers," retired Paxton- Buckley- Loda teacher Vicki Good reacted to Monday's news that an Aetna Medicare Advantage plan will officially be the only health insurance option for roughly 140,000 retired state workers for the next five or more years. United HealthCare, the company that previously…
Earlier this summer, the University of Vermont Health Network requested a slate of commercial insurance rate increases— effectively, seeking to charge private insurance companies more for services provided at its Vermont hospitals. But on Monday, expressing concern about affordability of medical care for Vermonters, the Green Mountain Care Board…
Virginia's Medicaid program has begun a potential fraud investigation into allegedly improper use of a program for stabilizing people in mental health crisis, with its focus on a relatively small number of providers in Henrico County and other parts of central Virginia. The Department of Medical Assistance Services, the state Medicaid office, said it has…
Oregon is the first state to get federal approval for Medicaid reimbursement of community-based mobile crisis intervention services, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday. The hope is to get more programs like White Bird Clinic's CAHOOTS in Eugene off the ground. "It's pretty big news for our little town," Chris Hecht, executive…
"I'm pleased to tell you today that that backlog is no more," Robert Knodell, acting director of the Department of Social Services, told members of a House budget panel on Wednesday. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in July approved a plan to help Missouri reduce wait times within the state's expanded Medicaid program. Knodell said Family Support…
Cass County residents in the market for health insurance gained options for navigating the healthcare system last week after Affiliated Service Providers of Indiana Inc. received $1.6 million in grant funding from the Centers for Medicare& Medicaid Services. ASPIN is a nonprofit behavioral health provider that also provides education to Indiana…
(Washington, D.C.) – A new Issue Brief published today by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) entitled, “Bitter Pill: A…
Twelve health insurers are approved to sell plans in Washington’s 2023 Exchange health insurance market. The average rate increase is…
A former Oregon dentist filed dozens of fraudulent loan and grant applications, in some instances using fictitious restaurant businesses, to steal nearly $11.5 million in COVID-19 relief funds, prosecutors said. Salwan Adjaj, 43, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, Sept. 13, to“ wire fraud and aggravated identity theft,” the United States Attorney’ s Office District of…
