Managed care
CA managed care plans lack in preventive care
A new report suggests that California's managed care plans aren't doing a great job when it comes to preventive care. The California Office of the Patient Advocate has issued a report comparing how... Read more...
Medicaid managed care not equal to commercial plans
Ideally, Medicaid beneficiaries who enroll in a managed care plan would get the same care as anyone in a commercial plan. Unfortunately, however, that's not how it actually works today, according to... Read more...
ALSO NOTED: La. hospital sues state; BofA, Health Net offer HSA debit card; and much more...
> A Louisiana hospital has sued the state over its Medicaid reimbursement formula, which the hospital says violates state and federal laws. Read more...
Health coverage cancellation rules slowed in Calif.
After nearly a year of censuring individual health plans for retroactively canceling individual policies improperly, the California state agency regulating health plans has yet to complete rules... Read more...
Illinois doctors fight Medicaid HMO plan
Providers are steamed up over an Illinois proposal to force some of the state's Medicaid patients to enroll in HMOs, possibly forcing some out of their care. Because the plans haven't been popular... Read more...
SPOTLIGHT: The fuss over physician ratings
Here's a view many FierceHealthcare readers will find a bit challenging. Over at Managed Care Matters, blogger Joe Paduda has taken the position that physician outrage over health... Read more...
Study: Number of small practices decreasing
Physicians are increasingly practicing in single-specialty groups of six to 50 physicians, rather than the old-school groups of one or two physicians, according to new research. A report by the... Read more...
HCA profits fall, smacked down by debt payment
Hospital chain HCA's profits fell dramatically during the second full quarter since private investors acquired it. While the chain's revenues for the quarter were up 5.8 percent, to $6.7 billion, its... Read more...
State budget freeze squeezes California providers
A budget impasse in the California legislature has tied up a major chunk of cash, putting reimbursement for a wide range of facilities on hold for the time being. While providers like physicians,... Read more...
BC of California faces hearing on complaints
Over the past three years the state of California has logged more than 1,600 consumer, physician and hospital complaints about Blue Cross of California (BCC) business practices. Sparked by these complaints, the state's Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) now plans to hold a public hearing to look at whether the Blue plan has kept promises it made when it was acquired in 2004 by WellPoint. The hearing, which will take place next week, follows a Department of Insurance report …
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