Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Study: Young adults use more healthcare
A new study by health insurer Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota has found that at least in their territory, healthcare visits amount young adults aged 20 to 30 are going up markedly. To conduct the study, BCBS looked at internal claims data dating from 2001 through 2005, covering 150,000 of its members in that age group.
What they found was that the volume of medical visits for this age group grew meaningfully over the five year span. The most dramatic increase was for …
... Read more...BCBS association opens HSA-oriented bank
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association has decided to enter the national healthcare banking business, angling for the dollars flowing into health savings account portion of their members' CDHPs. Blue Healthcare Bank, which has just gotten a federal savings bank charter, will be owned by 33 Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. Between 12 and 15 of the Blues should begin offering HSAs by the end of this year, according to Blue Healthcare Bank CEO Robert Gross. The bank already offers …
... Read more...ALSO NOTED: Charlotte, NC-area merger partners still foggy; CO mental health bill slammed; and much more...
> Despite making a commitment to move ahead, participants in a planned merger between Charlotte, NC-area health systems remain foggy on how things will work. Article
> A new Colorado bill which would mandate expanded mental health benefit coverage is taking some nasty shots from business groups, who say some mental health treatments are ineffective or even …
... Read more...ALSO NOTED: First-year cancer costs high; Nemours dumps BCBS of Florida; and much more...
> In 2005, cancer patients spent roughly $2.3 billion in traveling to, waiting for and getting care in the first year of diagnosis--a number which only climbs as the disease progresses. Article
> Pediatric physician group Nemours has dumped its contract with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, leaving thousands of BCBS of Florida enrollees with higher bills for …
... Read more...TX doctors slam quality ratings system
The Texas Medical Association is not pleased. Leaders of the 41,000 physician trade group have fired off a broadside sharply criticizing the new physician rating system proposed by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. The 3.3 million member health plan plans to create a Web-based physician ratings offering, scheduled to go live on January 1, which will use dark blue, light blue and gray ribbons to indicate the extent to which a given physician complies with evidence-based practices. The …
... Read more...IHI launches hospital injury reduction effort
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) is launching a new campaign aimed at preventing 5 million incidents of medical harm within U.S. hospitals during the next 24 months. The initiative, which is sponsored largely by America's Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans, follows on a previous effort known as the 100,000 Lives Campaign, under which 3,100 hospitals reduced inpatient deaths by about 122,000 in 18 …
... Read more...Insurers create PHR model
Perhaps in counter to a recent power grab by large employers, health insurance industry trade group America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association of America have released their own model for a portable personal health record. The new standards call for creating a Web-based personal health records--maintained, not surprisingly, by insurers--that are transportable from one insurance plan to another with little trouble. The records will include …
... Read more...Insurers vigorously defend CDHPs
In recent weeks, various studies citing stats on CDHPs have hit the press, some favorable and others criticizing the plans' impact on patients. But few have had the impact of the CDHP study just released by the Employee Benefits Research Institute and the Commonwealth Fund. The EBRI/CF study, which seems to have touched a nerve, found that many of the consumers insured by CDHPs …
... Read more...KS doctors' suit against insurers moves ahead
A class action suit by more than 2,200 doctors, targeting Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, Humana, United Healthcare and other defendants, will proceed through the court system rather than being shunted into arbitration. The physicians sued the health insurers in February 2005, arguing that the health plans were violating antitrust laws by, among other actions, collectively fixing prices and refusing to negotiate reasonable reimbursement rates. Contracts for most of the doctors …
... Read more...ALSO NOTED: Clinic operator plans China health plan; Former FDA head accused of lying about stock; and much more...
> The mystery that surrounded the sudden and unexplained departure of Lester Crawford shortly after his confirmation as FDA chief has cleared up. Crawford was charged yesterday with lying about the stocks he owned in companies regulated by the agency. Report
> A U.S. company operating several Chinese hospitals and clinics intends to offer high-deductible health insurance plans there. These would be the first such plans …
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