beneficiaries news from FierceHealthcare
News
SPOTLIGHT: Ex-CIGNA exec rips health plans
Many providers and consumers suggest that health plans aren't just bureaucratic, but also scheming to trip them up. And at least one former CIGNA executive agrees. With relentless pressure always on... Read more...
House bill requires insurance companies to disclose limits to consumers
Yesterday, the House passed HR 1253, the Health Insurance Restrictions and Limitations Clarification Act of 2009, which requires insurance companies to fully disclose policy limitations to... Read more...
CA judge tells insurer not to seek $1,000 settlements
A California judge has issued a temporary restraining order against health plan Anthem Blue Cross, barring the company from offering former customers $1,000 to give up the right to file legal claims... Read more...
UnitedHealthcare to pay $250K fine in Ohio
Health plan UnitedHealthcare has agreed to pay a $250,000 fine to settle with the state's Department of Insurance over letters it sent to policyholders concerning a health system in its network. The... Read more...
CMS makes Part D data available for patient-safety efforts
CMS has issued final regulations that will make Medicare Part D claims data available to the FDA and other agencies, as well as academic researchers, for use in patient-safety initiatives. The FDA... Read more...
CIGNA launches site offering doctor, hospital rankings
CIGNA has launched a national website ranking doctors and hospitals by cost and quality measures, along with providing its beneficiaries with several additional tools to help them obtain care. Not... Read more...
SPOTLIGHT: New rules would limit Medicare marketing
Federal regulators have proposed new rules that would set limits on the marketing of private Medicare health plans. The rules would ban unsolicited sales visits and phone calls to beneficiaries,... Read more...
ALSO NOTED: WellPoint exposes patient data; ED visits go up when OR trims Medicaid rolls; and much more...
> Security pros are lambasting WellPoint, which may have inadvertently allowed Web users to access data on 130,000 of its beneficiaries. Read more...
Medicare disease management pilot ending this year
Three years ago, CMS hired eight private disease management firms to set up chronic care improvement programs for beneficiaries. The programs, which reached as many as 150,000 seniors enrolled in... Read more...
Los Angeles sues Anthem for individual policy cancellations
The Los Angeles city attorney has sued Anthem Blue Cross for allegedly canceling coverage of thousands of members after they filed large medical claims. In doing so, it's following the lead of the... Read more...
