medical costs news from FierceHealthcare
News
SPOTLIGHT: Healthcare bankruptcies rare in Japan
While some say healthcare costs are responsible for the majority of American bankruptcies, apparently such bankruptcies are almost unheard of in Japan, according to one researcher who has studied its... Read more...
Study: Patient non-compliance with drugs costs $290B per year
People who don't take their medications as prescribed end up costing the health system up to $290 billion per year in increased medical costs, according to a Boston-based health policy group that is... Read more...
Aetna stock falls for Q1 '09 despite strong profits
Sometimes, you lose even when you win. Though Aetna reported that its first-quarter profit beat Wall Street's estimates, higher-than-expected medical costs still spooked investors, driving the... Read more...
If health plan profits keep falling, selloffs may begin
Health plan profits are falling, and given the trends in the U.S. economy and healthcare costs generally, this trend is likely to linger for a while. And if falling profits remain a fact of life for... Read more...
PA senators work to save PHC4
If things remain as they are, it seems that the nationally-recognized healthcare data monitoring agency known as the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) will die on November 30.... Read more...
WellPoint pushes stock prices up, but not profits, by raising premiums
Five months ago, Angela Braly, the CEO of health plan giant WellPoint, told investors that the plan could turn around falling profits by raising premiums and squeezing providers harder on fees. (OK,... Read more...
Survey: 22 percent of respondents have cut back on MD visits
With the U.S. economy in a downturn, it appears that consumers may be responding by cutting back on medical care. According to a new survey by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, 22... Read more...
Blue plans see 18 percent drop in operating earnings for '07
A new analysis by healthcare research and consulting firm the Sherlock Co. found that last year was not a good one for the nation's Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans, which lost money despite... Read more...
WellPoint profits fall 25 percent during first quarter
Yesterday it was UnitedHealth Group in the hot seat, and today it's WellPoint. The health... Read more...
UnitedHealth suffers financial setback
After years of allegations that management engaged in financial manipulations to feather their own nest, some might see this as a bit of karma. Having already missed its first quarter financial... Read more...
