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Trying to spur enrollment in a new health insurance program for uninsured people with pre-existing medical conditions, the federal government is doing something private insurers almost never do: slashing rates.
After years of steady progress, the percentage of 2 year olds in private health plans being immunized dropped last year, while it went up for Medicaid patients.
From medical device makers to pharmacists to labor unions, a host of organizations want to ensure that accountable care organizations expand their business and influence.
The agencies that oversee doctors and hospitals promised they will give unified guidance on how medical providers can form "accountable care organizations" without violating antitrust regulations. ACOs are a key part of the new health law.
The Obama administration has touted ACOs as a key way that the new health law will help providers work more closely together to lower health costs and improve patient care. But doctors and hospitals are worried about inadvertently violating antitrust and anti-fraud laws. Insurers fear the new doctor-hospital entities could boost health care prices. Industry and government officials are meeting Tuesday to deal with the concerns.
The recession's double whammy - less money and more need - is leaving states with reduced tax revenues and increasing numbers of people enrolling in the federal-state health care program for the poor.
In a reflection of the battered economy, the rate of uninsured Americans rose to 16.7 percent last year from 15.4 percent in 2008, according to a new Census Bureau report.
A new study found states have very different rates of enrollment for eligible kids - from a high of 95 percent in Massachusetts to a low of 55 percent in Nevada.
Premiums for family coverage rose about 3 percent to an average of $13,770, but workers are absorbing a greater percentage of the costs, survey finds.
Several recent studies show the risk of cancer associated with CT scans appears to be greater than previously believed.
Doctors who refer Medicare and Medicaid patients to in-house imaging machines must disclose in writing that they own the equipment.
The new "high-risk pools" - the federally-subsidized program for uninsured people with health problems - are one of the first benefits of the health overhaul law passed this year, but not many people have applied and been enrolled in the plans springing up around the country.
When a program subsidizing health insurance for people who lose their jobs ended this year, it created a costly problem as the recession continues to throw workers off the payroll. COBRA coverage, which employees of many businesses can obtain after being laid off, typically is very expensive.
Some say money employers save on health insurance in the health law will eventually mean more money for Social Security instead of more money for workers.
Ehealth Inc., a large Internet health insurance broker, has been named to help operate the new federal health website, making it one of the first private companies to get a major contract from the federal government under the nation's new health law.
During the health reform debate, people with pre-existing conditions lobbied for affordable health insurance. Now, HHS has issued new rules on how high-risk pools will work.
The Obama administration issues regulations that will set some minimum requirements for the process, including allowing patients to appeal the insurer's decision to an independent outside panel.
Three black members of Congress say minority nursing home patients would be disproportionately affected if Congress fails to extend bonus payments to state Medicaid programs.
The federal government is providing $27 billion over the next decade to reward doctors and hospitals for installing electronic health systems. But some hospital officials say the regulations are still too onerous.
The new health law mandated that the government set up a website to help consumers understand all of their insurance options. The site, www.healthcare.gov, launched July 1.
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