Category: Health Care Reform

(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Washington, D.C. – An examination of health care in the U.S. finds that despite the extraordinary economic success of many of its participants, the health care system has performed relatively poorly by some measures; and that outcomes have improved, but more slowly than in the past and more slowly than in comparable countries, according to an article in the November 13 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on critical issues in U.S. health care.

(HealthNewsDigest.co) – With open enrollment for the new health insurance marketplaces underway, many Americans will be looking for information about what the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will mean for them.

(HealthNewsDigest.com) – ROSELAND, N.J., June 26, 2013  — ADP ®, a leading provider of employee healthcare benefits administrationand human capital management services, today announced the findings of a new annual ADP Research Institute® report, which highlights significant trends in employer-provided healthcare benefits since 2010.

(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced that more states are on track to implement the health care law and establish health insurance marketplaces, or Exchanges, in their states.  California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Vermont and Utah are conditionally approved today to operate a State-based Exchange, and Arkansas is conditionally approved to operate a State Partnership Exchange.

(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced that three more states are on track to implement the health care law and establish health insurance marketplaces, or Exchanges, in their states.

(HealthNewsDigest.com) – As the final week of Medicare Open Enrollment approaches, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today that savings on prescription drugs made possible by the Affordable Care Act reached $5.1 billion.

(HealthNewsDigest.com) – The Obama administration moved forward today to implement provisions in the health care law that would make it illegal for insurance companies to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions. The provisions of the Affordable Care Act also would make it easier for consumers to compare health plans and employers to promote and encourage employee wellness.

(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today a new funding opportunity to help states continue their work to implement the health care law — the Affordable Care Act.

(HealthNewsDigest.com) – WASHINGTON, DC – “This is a victory for consumers,” said Jim Guest, President of Consumer Reports. “Health reform is alive and well and will benefit all of us. But today we are especially thinking of the seriously ill children who will continue to be able to get critical care, the young adults who can stay on their parent’s insurance, and the seniors who can better afford the prescription drugs they need. For these people and the millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions, the uncertainty is over.”

(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Alexandria, VA — The Council for Affordable Health Insurance (CAHI) is deeply disappointed that the U.S. Supreme Court validated a massive expansion of federal power over Americans’ most personal decisions — those impacting their health and the health of their families — by letting stand the federal health care reform law (ACA).

(HealthNewsDigest.com) – As a result of the Affordable Care Act, more than 5,254,000 seniors and people with disabilities have saved a total of $3.7 billion on prescription drugs since the law was enacted. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) also released data today showing that in the first five months of 2012, 745,000 people with Medicare saved a total of $485.3 million on prescription drugs in “donut hole” coverage gap for an average of $651 in savings this year.

(HealthNewsDigest.com) – More than 100,000 health care providers are using electronic health records that meet federal standards and have benefitted from the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) announced today.

(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Under the new health care law – the Affordable Care Act — seniors and people with disabilities in Medicare have saved a total of $3.5 billion on prescription drugs in the Medicare drug benefit coverage gap or “donut hole” from the enactment of the law in March 2010 through April of 2012.

(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today that Illinois, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee and Washington will receive more than $181 million in grants to help implement the new health care law.

(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Today, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced significant steps to reduce unnecessary, obsolete, or burdensome regulations on American hospitals and health care providers.

(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Primary care physicians serving Medicaid patients would see their Medicaid payments rise under a proposed rule announced today by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced the first batch of organizations for Health Care Innovation awards. Made possible by the health care law – the Affordable Care Act – the awards will support 26 innovative projects nationwide that will save money, deliver high quality medical care and enhance the health care workforce.

(HealthNewsDigest.com) – In the first three months of 2012 alone, more than 220,000 people on Medicare saved an average of $837, 8.9 million used a free preventive service

(HealthNewsDigest.com) – New opportunities in Medicaid and Medicare that will allow people to more easily receive care and services in their communities rather than being admitted to a hospital or nursing home were announced today by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced a proposed rule that would establish a unique health plan identifier under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). The proposed rule would implement several administrative simplification provisions of the Affordable Care Act.