MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'insurers'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:21:45 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4245259&cid=t_143298_87_f&fid=34470&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehealthcareblog.com%2Fthe_health_care_blog%2F2010%2F12%2Fbending-the-curve-beginning-with-birth.html By AMY M. ROMANO As I prepare for next week’s webinar on payment reform to align incentives with quality, I have been thinking a lot about how we pay for maternity care in this country, and the opportunities to rein... (Source: The Health Care Blog) The Health Care Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4245259 Thu, 09 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4245259 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4233184&cid=t_143298_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhealthcare-reform-law-state-courts-pose-a-threat%2F2010.12.06 Flush from their big win in the midterms, the Boehners are vowing to repeal and replace the Big O’s health reform law. They pose a legitimate threat, but an even larger one lies in the courts, where suits challenging the constitutionality of the law have been popping up like fireflies on a late August night. In Virginia for example, Republican-appointed Federal District Court Judge Henry Hudson has indicated that the Individual Mandate — a key provision of the law that has been challenged in a suit filed in his court by the state’s Republican Attorney General — might not pass his sniff test. Hudson said he’d rule on the matter this month. If he deems the provision to be unconstitutional, he might (it’s unlikely, but he might) enjoin the law altogether until higher courts rule o... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4233184 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 19:00:41 +0100 4233184 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4214114&cid=t_143298_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhealthcare-reform-law-is-gaining-public-support%2F2010.11.29 GOP hardliners soon to be in control of the House have made repeal of the detested healthcare reform law a cornerstone of their agenda, despite the impossibility of actually being able to repeal it, politically, at least until an election or two has passed, and despite the fact that their ascent to power had more to do with the terrible economy and high unemployment than any mandate to repeal the law. It seems that, finally, there may be movement towards increased public support for the law. A new McClatchy poll shows a majority of Americans now in favor of the law: A majority of Americans want the Congress to keep the new health care law or actually expand it, despite Republican claims that they have a mandate from the people to kill it, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll. The post... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4214114 Mon, 29 Nov 2010 15:00:00 +0100 4214114 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4151790&cid=t_143298_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fyour-insurance-plan-you-can-keep-it-if-you-want%25e2%2580%259d%2F2010.11.09 Forgive me for being a little late to the healthcare insurance reform discussion. I was busy, y’know, providing actual healthcare to sick people while that whole rigamarole was going on. But that one sentence, uttered over and over by everyone from the President on down, always stuck in my craw. At long last, I’m finally able to properly articulate my response. Trying to pass sweeping health insurance reform legislation while telling people that, of course, they “can keep their current plans if they want” is like legislating tough new laws against wifebeating and assuring women that, of course, they can stay with their husbands if they like. No one tries to force victims of domestic violence to leave their abusers, but they do try to help them understand that they h... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4151790 Tue, 09 Nov 2010 23:00:17 +0100 4151790 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4118795&cid=t_143298_87_f&fid=34470&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehealthcareblog.com%2Fthe_health_care_blog%2F2010%2F10%2Flosing-patients-with-insurers.html By ROB LAMBERTS, MD We are losing patients. Certain insurance companies are trying to “play hardball” with doctors, unwilling to negotiate with us over their outlandishly low rates. We have lost patience. So the signs went up in the exam... (Source: The Health Care Blog) The Health Care Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4118795 Thu, 28 Oct 2010 23:00:00 +0100 4118795 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3298304&cid=t_143298_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FQtoZq-2OhrU%2F By Roger PilonToday Politico Arena asks: Will President Obama’s proposal to block excessive rate increases by insurers help get a health care package through Congress? My response: Just where does President Obama think Congress finds the power to authorize the HHS secretary “to review, and to block, premium increases by private insurers, potentially superseding state insurance regulators”?  My colleague David Boaz addresses the politics of this unseemly proposal just below.  And elsewhere our colleague Michael Cannon offers a devastating economic critique of the proposal, citing White House economic advisor Larry Summers, no less, on the folly of it all.  But the constitutional question is what concerns me. No doubt Obama, a former lecturer in constitutional law, beli... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3298304 Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:28:07 +0100 3298304 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3171877&cid=t_143298_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FfYqakBfBSqo%2F By Tad DeHavenOne aspect of the health care debate that has not been sufficiently addressed is how the Department of Health and Human Services will handle all its new responsibilities given the massive fraud and abuse that already plagues its existing programs. It seems that every week there’s a new report of government health care being bilked. Since what’s reported is typically only what is caught, one can only imagine how much isn’t being caught. Harvard’s Malcolm Sparrow, a top specialist in health care fraud, estimates that up to 20 percent of federal health program budgets are consumed by improper payments, which would be a staggering $150 billion a year for Medicare and Medicaid. New York Times columnist David Leonhardt did raise the question this week of whether the HHS bur... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3171877 Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:42:55 +0100 3171877 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2930962&cid=t_143298_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fe8FSXQOtY1Y%2F Florida’s airwaves are alive with the sound of Governor Charlie Crist’s radio advertisement trumpeting his grade of “A” on Cato’s “Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors.” I am pleased that Gov. Crist values Cato’s ratings because we work hard to make them accurate and nonpartisan. But the radio ad is making many fiscally conservative Floridians scratch their heads because of the governor’s recent policy actions. The governor earned his Cato grade in last year’s report mainly because of his large property tax cuts and moderate spending approach. The grade was based purely on quantitative data on revenues, general fund spending, and tax rate changes. However, since I wrote the report in mid-2008, the governor seems to have fallen off the fisca... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2930962 Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:29:02 +0100 2930962 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2473202&cid=t_143298_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fsrb-41yebHw%2F Faced with rising opposition to a so-called “public option” in health care reform, some Democrats are floating the idea of establishing health insurance “co-operatives” as an alternative. Opponents of a government takeover of the health care system should not be fooled. A “co-op” can be defined as a business owned and controlled by its workers and the people who use its services, in this case presumably the people whom it insures. In that sense, government provision of some sort of legal framework or seed money to help establish health insurance co-ops seems relatively harmless but also relatively pointless. The U.S. already has some 1,300 insurance companies. Adding a few more would accomplish…what? It is suggested that the “co-ops” would be nonprofits, and therefore wou... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2473202 Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:02:11 +0100 2473202 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1924711&cid=t_143298_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F437134300%2F All the doctors had to do was show up, enjoy a free dinner at an elegant Rochester, New York, restaurant specializing in steaks and expensive wines, and pocket $100 on the way out the door. No, this wasn’t a big drugmaker showing largesse. Health insurers invited the docs to hear a pitch about the benefits of prescribing generics instead of pricier brand-name meds, the Associated Press writes. Meet the flip side of a concern about corporate influence in the doctor’s office that’s been criticized - often stridently - when big pharma entices doc to prescribe brand-name drugs. Under pressure, that industry has since reined in its promotional efforts. But insurers are allowed to push docs toward cheaper drugs, frequently by offering a cut from the savings insurers get when do... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1924711 Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:56:10 +0100 1924711 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1593800&cid=t_143298_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2008%2F07%2F07%2Fsurprise-mental-health-parity-is-inexpensive%2F Massachusetts released a report late last week showing that full mental health parity legislation to bring the payment of mental health conditions in line with physical health conditions would add negligible costs. Historically, health insurers and businesses have discriminated against equal treatment of mental disorders because they could — the stigmatization of such concerns made it easy to suggest they shouldn’t receive equal treatment coverage. The new report blows away any remaining legitimate criticism of such legislation: The Department of Public Health evaluation - based on a review of past studies, an actuarial analysis, and interviews with Massachusetts insurers and providers - projected that the mental health parity legislation, which overwhelmingly passed the Hou... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1593800 Tue, 08 Jul 2008 02:31:42 +0100 1593800 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1283447&cid=t_143298_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2008%2F03%2F06%2Fmental-health-parity-this-year%2F It’s taken 7 years to get to this point, but it appears that with the passage of a House bill that calls for mental health parity. What is mental health parity? Well, it’s simple really — treating mental health disorders as equals to other medical ailments. Insurers have long treated the two as distinct, separate concerns that are covered (or not covered, as is so often the case) in vastly different ways. Now both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate have passed mental health parity bills. The two very different bills must now be reconciled in a committee: Both bills bar insurance plans from charging disparate deductibles and co-payments for mental-health services compared with other medical benefits. They also prevent plans from placing more stringent treatment limits o... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1283447 Thu, 06 Mar 2008 18:10:11 +0100 1283447 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1100287&cid=t_143298_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F201828192%2F The Association of British Insurers plans to issue a warning to Shire shareholders after the drugmaker last week announced plans to appoint its ceo as non-executive chairman, The Financial Times reports. Peter Montagnon, ABI’s director of investment affairs, tells the paper that before Shire’s annual meeting next June, his group would place an “amber top” on its institutional voting information service, which alerts investors to potential breaches of best UK corporate governance practice. His comments came after Shire disclosed that Matthew Emmens, the ceo since 2003, would become non-executive chairman from June next year. While such a change is acceptable in US corporate culture, it is frowned upon in the UK, although other examples have taken place including at H... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1100287 Mon, 17 Dec 2007 20:23:35 +0100 1100287 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1022534&cid=t_143298_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F184096032%2F Finally, the kids are off to school. The dog has pooped. And the coffee in the Pharmalot conference room is piping hot. What better way to enjoy the morning than with a clear head and a screen full of interesting items? And so here they are…. Pharmaceutical Underwriters Are Migrating North (Canadian Underwriter) Drug Costs Hurt Retiree Savings: Medco Survey (Yahoo/AP) Roche, Novartis And J&J’s Ortho Settle Patent Dispute (Bloomberg News) VaxGen And Raven Biotechnologies Agree To Merger (PharmaTimes) Roche Says Avastin Study Misses Endpoint (Yahoo/Reuters) Sanofi To Market & Develop Acambis West Nile Vaccine (MarketWatch) Share / E-mail (Source: Pharmalot) Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1022534 Tue, 13 Nov 2007 12:40:03 +0100 1022534 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=825596&cid=t_143298_134_f&fid=36049&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FDiabetesNotes%2F%7E3%2F147105381%2F A new study found that using an insulin pen may result in fewer trips to the emergency department and to the doctor’s office, resulting in substantial savings to diabetics and their insurers. How does $17,000 in savings grab you? Uh huh, I said 17 thousand. Switching from insulin to an insulin pen could save you just that amount. The insulin pen is more accurate in that it gives a specific measured amount, meaning less chance of a mistake. We all know that mistakes with insulin often lead to doctor and hospital visits, so this would put you in the green. We also know that there is a drawback with almost everything that goes along with health care. What is the issue here? The initial cost of “pen users” compared with “syringe users” is higher. And when the annu... Diabetes Notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=825596 Wed, 22 Aug 2007 23:26:27 +0100 825596