Consumer Driven Health Plans/ HSA

According to a newly-issued report, the brain trust at PriceWaterhouseCoopers expects 2007 to be a signal year in the healthcare history. Among other things, they say, it should be the point at which states begin to take a lead role in reform and consumer-driven health initiatives reach the tipping point. With federal regulators at a standstill, PwC expects to see states jump into controversial issues such as …

A group of large U.S. and European companies have announced plans to create digital employee health records linking hospital, physician and pharmacy data. By linking this data, these companies hope to help consumers better coordinate and drive their own care. The companies, which include Intel, Wal-Mart and British Petroleum, are beginning the effort by developing a joint records standard. Later, each plan to kick in $1.5 million to construct a joint "data warehouse" for storing the …

When CDHPs offer health promotion and wellness incentives, they can succeed in making a positive impact on members' health behaviors, according to a newly-released study by insurance brokerage and consulting firm Aon. The study analyzed plans provided by South Africa's Discovery Health and subsidiaries, including U.S.-based Destiny Health, covering more than two million lives.

Among other conclusions, the study found that monetary, vacation and merchandise rewards for desirable …

Tons of good PR, more high-margin pharmacy business and a truckload of new customers eyeing your rock-bottom prices on socks and light bulbs--what's not to like? Apparently happy with the progress of its $4 generic drug program in Florida, Wal-Mart is rolling the program out on a much larger scale, expanding it to 1,264 stores in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas and Vermont. Wal-Mart has …

Consumer-driven healthcare has the potential to reshape the industry in positive ways, but if it's handled badly, it could generate a regulatory backlash over the next decade. That's the one of the key conclusions drawn by participants at a recent symposium run by Goldman Sachs and Diamond Management & Technology Consultants. At present, Goldman Sachs estimates that the number of lives covered by consumer-directed health plans will grow from under 4 million in 2005 to 49 million by …

A new report from PriceWaterhouseCoopers argues that with lots of high-profile scrutiny under way, non-profit hospitals need to do a much better job of measuring and communicating the community benefit and charity care they provide. What's more, PWC suggests, hospitals will need to develop patient-friendly pricing schemes to compliment their community-friendly policies. The consulting firm breaks down its recommendations across reporting, pricing and business relationship strategies, and …

The state of Texas has launched a public-private program intended to make healthcare pricing data widely available, to promote the use of electronic medical records and to strengthen the small-business health insurance market. The Texas Health Care System Integrity Authority, which includes consumers, employers, providers, payers and government agencies, will guide the project. The Authority will develop a network for securely exchanging electronic medical records and will also promote …

Squeezing in under a state-mandated October 1 deadline for posting hospital pricing data online, the Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA) has become the latest hospital trade group to provide pricing data on member hospitals. The MHA just launched a new site providing detailed pricing data from specific Minnesota hospitals, offering data for the 50 most common in-patient procedures and 25 most common same-day procedures.

In forcing the issue of price reporting, the state of …

Wal-Mart is jumping on the CDHP bandwagon. The nation's largest employer announced that it will offer only the high-deductible policies to new employees, but that current employees who chose to renew their existing plans won't have to switch. While the plans have monthly premiums as low as $11, some deductibles will run as high as $6,000 a year. Wal-Mart says that in the long run, the new health plans will save employees money. Critics, on the other hand, blast the company for shifting …

The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) is demanding more bang for the buck for healthcare spending, as it picks a new administrator for its healthcare plan. While Blue Cross currently administers the pension fund's two self-funded PPOs, the contract expires at the end of 2007. CalPERS issued an RFP this week, requesting pitches to administer the contract starting in 2008.  This time around, CalPERS is asking candidates whether they will share information on …