Health Care Delivery

Retail health insurance marketplaces, also known as exchanges, are on the cusp of dramatically changing the health insurance business, according to a new report from PwC's Health Research Institute.

The Health Care Cost Institute and the National Academy for State Healthy Policy are launching a grant program to fund studies that will analyze how the states are implementing health reform.

Extending young adults' eligibility for health insurance on their parents' plans under an Affordable Care Act provision led to a decrease in emergency department visits.

In the largest cities in 15 states plus the District of Columbia the average insurance premiums for the second-lowest-cost silver plan will decline by 0.8% in 2015, according to an analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

After vowing earlier this year to find a way to expand Medicaid to 400,000 Virginians, Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe conceded yesterday he'd been cornered by Republicans in the Legislature determined to thwart his plans. McAuliffe yesterday unveiled a modest plan to extend Medicaid to 20,000 residents with severe mental illnesses and 5,000 children of state workers.

Transitional plans that are non-compliant may be cancelled by the insurer or barred by some states.

Yesterday's government report that healthcare spending will start rising faster after a decade of historically slow growth raises questions: Will rising numbers of insured people drive the spending? Or are healthcare costs going up on their own? The answer is likely some of each, based on a look at trends within yesterday's report and a just-released study of spending by commercial health plans, published in The American Journal of Managed Care.

The Appeals Court for the District of Columbia announced Thursday that it would re-hear Halbig v. Burwell en banc, meaning the entire panel of 11 judges will weigh in on the case. There will also be two senior judges who hear the case, but do not vote.

Maine is one of twenty-three states nationally to stay away from Medicaid Expansion.

States who refused to expand Medicaid will pay for other states that did; an investment without returns unless they participate in the expansion program.

Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana is facing fresh criticism for refusing to expand Medicaid, after his administration scrambled to keep the doors open at an emergency room in the state capital. Yesterday, Democratic state legislators gathered across the street from Baton Rouge General Mid City hospital, which nearly closed its emergency room last week before the Jindal Administration came through with a state-federal cash infusion that totaled $18 million to cover uncompensated care.

Glitches in the website could prevent individuals from submitting immigration documents, resulting in fines or loss of coverage.

Obama administration has granted over $35 million to support facility improvements in 147 health centers nationwide to deliver better coordinated care.

It'll be the 28th state to join the program.

The research, being conducted at UC Berkley, is being funded by the Cures Acceleration Network, which is one of dozens of state and federal agencies established by the health law.

The lawsuit, which was a long time coming, names top executives within Oracle, and claims damages as much as 240 million and penalties as high as $480 million for each allegation of wrongdoing.

Millions helped by Obama health law may get hit with reduced tax refunds unless they act soon.

With the FDA accepting an application from Sandoz for it's biosimilar filgrastim, the biosimilar landscape in the US is expected to undergo a huge turnaround.

In the twilight of his term of office, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear is savoring the political fruits from a leap of faith made 15 months ago, when he spurned his Legislature and opted to expand Medicaid, citing a unique provision in Kentucky regulations. A year after the CMS visit, Beshear and his team are the subject of glowing reports, which describe how a commonwealth with a history of getting things wrong in healthcare has done just about everything right in Obamacare.

The study, published in the journal Health Service Research, found that the timing of the financial incentives offered by the program was not associated with improved quality of care.

A new Kaiser Family Foundation report analyzes key trends that have shaped the Medicare Part D marketplace since the program launched nine years ago, providing a detailed assessment of changes in plan availability, enrollment, premiums and cost sharing in both private stand-alone drug plans, and Medicare Advantage drug plans.

People who bought state plans instead of seeking insurance through their employer, have to go through the process again due to a temporary fix that was afforded.

The concept of a single-payer health system remains somewhat controversial among some legislators, yet Vermont continues to embrace the transition despite the challenges.

Richard Umdenstock, president and chief executive officer, American Hospital Association, says that many Americans who are newly insured have not had a high level of interaction with the healthcare system. Some people in this patient population might not even know that there are opportunities to engage with members in their community.

Specialty drugs expected to account for 40% of total prescription spending by 2016, according to Catamaran Corporation.

Consumers who missed open enrollment on the state health insurance marketplaces this spring or who are waiting for employer coverage to start don't have to "go bare."

While a few free health clinics have shut their doors in Arkansas and Washington, most expansion-state non-profit free clinics are reassessing their business strategies.

The number of young adults who are at risk for mental health problems and substance abuse are now increasingly seeking care due to a provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).