Insurance companies must cover mental and physical illnesses equally, under a provision included in the so-called bailout legislation signed into law last Friday by President Bush.
The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the employer spending requirement of the San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance (HCSO). The court ruled that the city ordinance was not preempted by ERISA.
Newt Gingrich wants to transform health care in America. And the former Speaker of the House has three initiatives for fundamental reform that he shared with an audience of HR and benefits professionals. His proposals include the collection and implementation of best practices, a transition to electronic health records, and an investment in new technologies.
Recently, the Medicare/Medicaid system (CMS) announced that it would no longer pay the bill for certain conditions that are caused by medical errors. By refusing to subsidize sloppy work, CMS is hoping to force hospitals to re-examine their procedures to cut down on errors. It is expected that there will be a 'trickle down' effect on medical plans.
Americans who get employer-based health insurance for their families saw their premiums increase 10 times faster than their income from 2001 to 2005, according to a analysis of government data by the State Health Access Data Assistance Center at the University of Minnesota.
Employers and health insurers would be prohibited from discriminating against individuals on the basis of their genetic information, under landmark legislation recently approved by Congress.
New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo says that he is conducting an industry-wide investigation into how health insurers compute reimbursement rates for out-of-network medical expenses.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., reported recently that the percentage of its employees who say they have no healthcare coverage declined from 9.6 percent to 7.3 percent in the last year.
Most health savings account (HSA) plans cover recommended preventive benefits on a first-dollar basis (that is, without regard to whether the deductible is met), according to a new survey released today by America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP).
