Insurance

Proposed mergers of Aetna and Humana, and Anthem and Cigna, raise questions of whether consumers will continue to see competition in health insurance markets.

Fifty years ago today, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the law that created Medicare and Medicaid, setting in motion not only the greatest change in healthcare in the nation's history at that point, but also a lasting change for society.

Healthcare spending growth between 2014 and 2024 is projected to be substantially lower than the 3 decades prior to 2008, according to a new report from CMS. In addition, the average premium for a basic Medicare Part D prescription plan will remain stable in 2016.

All-cause mortality and hospitalization rates and inpatient expenditures among Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries decreased from 1999 to 2013.

The HHS Secretary told the National Governors Association that she needed their help in fighting substance abuse and in moving the healthcare system from a volume-based to a value-based system.

The potential of nurse practitioners is not being fully realized in primary care medical practices. Consequently, cost and quality gains are not being achieved.

CMS' shift to value-based payments has also shifted diabetes care models from cost-centered systems to cost-savings centers, according to Robert A. Gabbay, MD, PhD, chief medical officer and senior vice president of Joslin Diabetes Center.

Recent surveys have found that public sentiment on drug costs runs high and crosses the political divide. A move this week by the nation's leading oncologists to rein in therapy pricing may be a sign that this is the breakthrough issue of the presidential campaign.

The study has policy implications since Americans 65 and older are eligible for Medicare, and trustees reported this week that the hospital fund will only be solvent until 2030.

This article describes a study of an intervention to engage Medicare Part D beneficiaries in obtaining a comprehensive medication review.

A leading voice on diabetes care asks why Medicare still will not cover CGM technology.

Instead of making patients suffering from life-limiting illnesses choose between hospice care and curative care, CMS will test coverage that allows individuals to receive palliative and curative treatment concurrently.

A new blog post at RAND argues that Medicare's plans to reimburse providers for advance care planning has been a long time coming.

The top story was Marilyn Tavenner became the nation's top healthcare lobbyist when she was named the new president and CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans, plus the controversial new guidelines that called for more Americans to take statins were validated, according to the results of a new study.

Long-term acute care hospitals provide better outcomes and more cost-effective care when treating critically ill and medically complex patients.

Approximately 9 million Medicare beneficiaries are considered "complex care" and they often incur high out-of-pocket costs. As lifespans lengthen, it becomes important for Medicare to adapt to serve these complex care beneficiaries.

Nearly 50 years after President Johnson signed the law that created them, Medicare and Medicaid have become part of the fabric of the US healthcare system. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll finds little support for proposals to alter the basic structure of the programs.

The link between getting patients to take medication correctly and keeping down healthcare costs is strong enough that adherence is being tied to reimbursement for healthcare providers. A study published recently in The American Journal of Managed Care examines connections at the health plan level between good plan-level adherence, lower rates of disease complications, and lower medical spending.

Using new data, the authors found that consumers in the Medicare Advantage market are fairly insensitive to premiums, but respond more strongly to reduced medical cost sharing.

Jennifer Malin, MD, medical director for oncology at Anthem, explains how both physicians and payers struggle with the high cost of some cancer treatment drugs.

Former CMS administrator, Marilyn B. Tavenner, will step into the role of president and chief executive of America's Health Insurance Plans.

Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt says the Fraud Prevention System has yielded a 10-to-1 return for taxpayers

The Patients' Access to Treatments Act of 2015 was introduced earlier this year to rein in the high cost-sharing requirements for specialty drugs.

The top story of the week was Aetna's purchase of Humana, which signals a growth in government managed care. In addition, the 340B drug discount program came under fire after a report from the Government Accountability Office.

President Barack Obama has nominated Andy Slavitt to become the new administrator of CMS.

Unlike ACOs or P4P, implementation of bundled payment for inpatient and post acute care in Medicare would modestly reduce geographic variation in spending.

A study of Kaiser Permanente cancer patients found that two-thirds of teen and young adult patients received aggressive care at the end of life. The special issue on the topic comes as CMS proposes paying doctors or nurses to discuss advanced care planning.

As CMS continues to transform the Medicare program to a quality- and outcomes-based system, the agency is proposing to support patient- and family-centered care for Medicare beneficiaries by enabling them to discuss advance care planning with their providers.

The report found that Medicare Part B spending per beneficiary in 340B hospitals was more than twice that of hospitals outside the program. Groups such as the Community Oncology Alliance have long warned that the 340B program, while essential, has grown beyond its original intent.