Claims Follow-Ups May Have Cost Providers Over $3 Billion Says Recondo Survey
January 8th 2016A new survey by a healthcare technology solutions company has identified that manual follow-up procedures on late payments from insurance companies costs the organization 33% more per claim than previous estimates.
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What We're Reading: Report Reveals Full ACA Enrollment So Far
January 8th 2016What we're reading, January 8, 2016: HHS releases report with full Obamacare enrollment information for all 50 states and the District of Columbia; the expansion of the biosimilars in 2016; and promising Ebola treatment found not effective.
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What We're Reading: Uninsured Rate in 2015 Essentially Unchanged
January 7th 2016What we're reading, January 7, 2016: the uninsured rate at the end of 2015 was essentially unchanged from the beginning of the year; CMS may start paying for some rehab for drug or alcohol addiction; and follow-up care plans after hospital discharge are often too difficult for patients to understand.
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What We're Reading: The ACA Fails the Working Poor
January 5th 2016What we're reading, January 5, 2016: A special report highlights how the working poor slip through the cracks of the Affordable Care Act; the FDA approved 51 drugs in 2015 with nearly half being first-in-class; and the Senate is expected to vote on President Obama's nomination for FDA commissioner next Tuesday.
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What We're Reading: Health Insurers Offer Free Doctor's Visits
January 4th 2016What we're reading, January 4, 2016: health insurers offering free doctor's visits for some plans; some consumers find paying the Affordable Care Act penalty cheaper than buying insurance; and clinicians and patients are increasingly worried about opioid dangers.
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Penny Mohr Q&A: Comparative Effectiveness Research and Healthcare Disparities
January 3rd 2016Penny Mohr, MA, senior program officer for improving healthcare systems at the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, discusses comparative effectiveness research, healthcare disparities, and patient-centered care at the 20th annual international meeting of ISPOR.
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What We're Reading: Small Innovations Make a Big Difference
December 31st 2015What we're reading, December 31, 2015: small innovations from doctors and insurers can make a big difference in cutting healthcare costs; WellCare is transitioning its pharmacy benefit management to CVS Health; and US health officials remind Americans to get the flu shot.
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What We're Reading: Generic Drug Prices Declined in 2015
December 30th 2015What we're reading, December 30, 2015: most commonly used generic drugs were cheaper at the end of 2015, meanwhile the FDA has a huge backlog of generic drug applications, and few states are expected to expand Medicaid in 2016.
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What We're Reading: Pulling the Wool Off the Individual Mandate
December 29th 2015How promoting the penalties of the individual mandates changes the sign-up mix, changing attitudes on women's pelvic health, and the challenges that await Louisiana's new governor as he plans to expand Medicaid.
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What We're Reading: Medicaid Enrollees Demand Hepatitis C Treatment
December 28th 2015What we're reading, December 28, 2015: patients fight for Medicaid coverage of expensive hepatitis C treatment, Express Scripts develops programs to protect insurer's from pricey new drugs, and Republicans divided over Medicaid expansion.
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Q&A on Patient Engagement With Dr Emil Chiauzzi of PatientsLikeMe
December 25th 2015Emil Chiauzzi, PhD, research director, client services at PatientsLikeMe, sat down for an interview at the ISPOR 20th Annual International Meeting to discuss using social media for patient engagement and improving the relationships between researchers and patients.
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What We're Reading: Free Drug Could Get Costly
December 25th 2015What we're reading, December 25, 2015: a drug that is currently free could get very costly; this year's flu season is expected to be mild; and before they went on recess, members of Congress introduced a number of healthcare-related bills.
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What We're Reading: Co-Op Failures Could Have Been Avoided
December 24th 2015What we're reading, December 24, 2015: more than half of Affordable Care Act co-ops will be closed by the end of 2015, but this could have been avoided; 5 senators are pressing CMS for information on containing drug costs; and a task force does not recommend screening all teens and children for high cholesterol.
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What We're Reading: Most Expensive Medicare Drugs
December 23rd 2015What we're reading, December 23, 2015: CMS releases data on the most expensive Medicare drugs, while HHS reports strong enrollment numbers on HealthCare.gov, and Hillary Clinton outlines a plan to spend $20 billion on Alzheimer's disease research.
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NPC's Michael Ciarametaro Discusses the Move to Bundled Payments
December 22nd 2015As the healthcare system moves to an environment of value-based payment, bundled payments could become the next step in healthcare transformation. However, there are both opportunities and risks in this form of value-based payment, explained Michael Ciarametaro, MBA, director of research at the National Pharmaceutical Council, at the ISPOR 20th Annual International Meeting.
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What We're Reading: US Task Force Releases Statin Use Recommendations
December 22nd 2015What we're reading, December 22, 2015: experts recommend using statins in adults between the ages of 40 years and 75 years; Republicans and Democrats are equally concerned about rising healthcare costs; and Martin Shkreli now fired as CEO of a second company.
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What We're Reading: Taxpayers Spending Millions on Expensive Generic Drugs
December 18th 2015What we're reading, December 18, 2015: HHS report finds generic drug prices rising faster than inflation; UnitedHealthcare's real-time drug approval tool; and government overcharged by private Medicare Advantage plans.
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What We're Reading: Congress Deals 3 Blows to the ACA
December 17th 2015What we're reading, December 17, 2015: Congress is expected to pass a spending plan that includes 3 changes to the Affordable Care Act; a new analysis estimates 2016 premiums for marketplace plans will increase 11%; and one-third of Americans die from cardiovascular disease.
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