Insurance

Next month, state health officials will launch a transition of rural Medi-Cal beneficiaries into Medi-Cal managed care health plans. The transition involves about 20,000 of the most frail and elderly segment of the rural Medi-Cal population.

CMS announced today that low-dose computed tomography screening will now be reimbursed once a year by Medicare as a preventive service benefit, despite an advisory panel recommending against the screening back in April 2014.

The efficacy of oral antivirals for hepatitis C infection is a moot point. The prevailing discussion now delves into the best combinations that can target different viral genotypes, access to these combination regimens, and the subsequent dent in the budget of the patient, the health plan, or the care provider-as the case may be.

Medicare costs, Department of Veterans Affairs budgetary costs, and the economic impact on the developing world-these were some of the topics discussed at the evening session, Health Economics and Cost-Effectiveness, on the third day at The Liver Meeting 2014, held in Boston, Massachusetts, November 7 to 11, 2014.

The study results from the National Lung Screening Trial found cost-effectiveness and value of screening long-term smokers when screened by trained professionals.

CMS released final rules for both the 2015 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and the 2015 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System.

bioTheranostics, Inc's Breast Cancer Index, a genomic test quantifying the risk of breast cancer recurrence and predicting which patients will likely benefit from extended endocrine therapy, will be covered by Medicare.

Highmark Inc. won a court ruling Thursday allowing it to exclude UPMC hospitals and doctors from some plans it sells to seniors.

The retrospective study analyzed SEER data from 2001 through 2009, and found that the annual CAD prevalence among Medicare screening mammograms increased from 3.5% to 79.7%.

The retrospective study, results of which were presented at the 2014 Chicago Multidisciplinary Symposium in Thoracic Oncology, showed that the total diagnostic workup cost for the study sample of Medicare beneficiaries was $38.3 million.

An investigation into 2012 Medicare claims for HIV-infected patients unearthed payment for prescriptions that were filled up to 32 days after the patient's passing.

From Medicaid providers that are regulated as insurers alongside managed care organizations, as happens in Mississippi, to "enhanced medical homes," which are found in Colorado, the variety that exists in healthcare delivery across the states has adapted to reflect the shift to accountable care, according to an author writing for the American Journal of Public Health.

In 2015, hospital readmissions will be a growing concern as the maximum penalty increases to 3% of Medicare payments. Researcher from Columbia Business School found that one extra day in the hospital can make all the difference to readmission and mortality rates.

US Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell announces new progams and financial incentives to help accountable care organizations (ACOs) and professional medical associations make the transition from fee-for-service to value-based healthcare delivery.

Industry experts discussed the big issues facing accountable care organizations (ACO) at the Brookings Institute's event, The State of Accountable Care: Evidence to Date and Next Steps, held Monday in Washington, DC.

Attendees at the ACO and Emerging Healthcare Delivery Coalition meeting held October 16-17, 2014, in Miami, Fla., gained insights to help physicians and accountable care organizations achieve the "Triple Aim" of better population health, greater patient satisfaction, and lower costs. This initiative of The American Journal of Managed Care has now attracted more than 120 members.

Myriad Genetics, Inc., announced today that the Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) that has jurisdiction over most molecular diagnostic tests has issued its draft notice on how Medicare will provide reimbursement for Prolaris, a test that Myriad has developed to guide treatment decisions in prostate cancer.