healthcare report

It may be starting as a small division, but it could become something big quickly. Hoping to get its piece of the agency's massive budget, Humana has created a unit which will help the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs care for veterans who are eligible for its benefits. Humana already gets roughly three quarters of its premium revenue from government sources, largely from CMS. Now it wants more government income. To jump start the new division, Humana Veterans Healthcare Services, it …

Geisinger Health System is seeing some success with an intriguing experiment in packaging up services at a flat fee. Following a model pushed by proponents of "value-driven" healthcare, Geisinger has established a flat fee for some surgeries that includes not only follow-up care, but also treatment for any complications that arise. The program, which focuses on elective heart bypass surgery, has been in place since February 2006. To make sure they didn't end up providing lots of extra …

Washington state governor Chris Gregoire (D) has put her John Hancock on a new law which should make some significant changes to the state's health system. Among other things, the measure will boost health coverage for children and young adults, in part by requiring health plans and state employee programs to cover unmarried children up to age 25 on parents' policies. The law will also encourage the use of EMRs. Perhaps most significantly, the bill will set up a pilot program to test a …

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's health system reform proposals hit a snag this week, with the state's medical society announcing that it opposed the plans despite some doctor-friendly concessions. Blagojevich is pushing a plan, known as "Illinois Covered," which would extend Medicaid to all adults below the federal poverty line and offer new state insurance to many working families. It would also subsidize private insurance costs for other families. Insurance companies would have to offer …

While far from enjoying a landslide of support, a bill which would create a single health insurer in Connecticut is continuing to move through the state legislature. Few observers expect the measure to proceed much further, but the progress of the Connecticut Saves Health Care bill intrigues supporters, who say that its continued progress shows a surprising level of support for single-payor reform. After all, if approved, the measure would radically change the state's health insurance …

Despite the importance of such diagnoses to wartime medical care, the military hasn't developed a comprehensive plan to treat soldiers with mild and moderate brain injuries, according to a new report. The Pentagon has had traumatic brain injury (TBI) on its radar since at least mid-2006, when a military-generated report suggested that it was critical to develop good screenings for blast-associated TBI and other forms of brain injury. While the military does a good job of treating …

Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich (D) has released his plans to extend health coverage to the state's 1.4 million residents. The linchpin of his proposal is the "Illinois Covered Choice" health plan--privately issued health insurance made affordable by pooling members across the state. Uninsured individuals without access to coverage would be able to buy in regardless of health status--and families who buy in could save more than $10,000 per year, state officials said. In addition, …

After negotiations with the state's health insurance plans, Massachusetts government leaders say that buying in to new basic health coverage products could now cost as little as $175 per month. The bare-bones plans, which were created as an affordable offering for the uninsured, would include such necessities as outpatient care, ED visits and prescription drugs. Now, a state panel overseeing the law's implementation will vote this month on whether to approve offerings by seven health …

Medical tourism has become one of our favorite topics here at FierceHealthcare. In the past several months, we've reported on several instances of Americans going outside the country to receive medical care that is comparable--and far less expensive--than what they would get in the states. Those without insurance, or patients interested in elective or cosmetic surgery, are …

HealthSouth's huge accounting scandal has finally come to a close, as the company has agreed to pay $445 million to settle a shareholder lawsuit. HealthSouth will be responsible for $215 million in cash, stocks and warrants and insurance companies will pay the remaining part of the settlement. The $2.7 billion scandal eventually led to the conviction of 15 HealthSouth executives. Though HealthSouth will pay the hefty settlement, the company has admitted no wrongdoing.

For details on the settlement:
- see this Modern Healthcare report