Aetna pink slips — Just after predicting that its earnings per share would grow 3 to 5 percent in 2009, Aetna announced it was going to lay off 1,000 of its employees, or about 3 percent of its workforce. Ronald A. Williams, chairman and CEO of Aetna, said the layoffs would “allow us to manage through the economic downturn from a position of strength.” While the company has expanded...
Health Care Industry Archive
December 2008
Healthcare CEOs create reform advocacy group — Chief executives of several large hospital chains, health-insurance providers and drug companies formed Health CEOs for Health Reform, a group that intends to push for changes that expand coverage and create a “sustainable” healthcare system. Founding members include executives of Catholic Healthcare West, Blue Shield of...
Some insurance companies are ratcheting their “consumerism” campaigns a notch higher by launching retail insurance stores. The latest to do so is Highmark, a Blues plan in western Pennsylvania, which plans to open two such stores under the Highmark Direct moniker in Mechanicsburg and Pittsburgh. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, and Humana have...
E-prescribing is one of those no-brainers that has nevertheless taken forever to attain any sort of momentum in U.S. healthcare. But there finally appears to be some good news on that front, thanks to new Medicare incentives that appear to have pushed many doctors to climb on the bandwagon. According to SureScripts-RxHub, which manages an e-prescription network for many pharmacies, the number...
What a difference two years have made in the health insurance industry! In October 2006, following a call by President Bush for price transparency, America’s Health Insurance Plans told Medical Economics that some of its members worried that publication of what they paid providers could hurt competition by setting a “floor” for payments in particular markets. Just one major insurer,...
Wal-Mart, Walgreens retail-clinic use “modest” – Retail clinics staffed by physician assistants and located in stores such as Wal-Mart, Walgreens and CVS aren’t drawing big crowds, a study from the Center for Studying Health System Change found. Only 2.3 percent of Americans had visited a retail clinic as of 2007, although the young and those who have been denied care or...
Before President-Elect Obama even takes office, prominent health IT executives are already weighing in on how he should promote the adoption of health IT. Glen Tullman, CEO of Allscripts-Misys Healthcare, predicted that the Obama Administration will invest less in health IT than the $50 billion that Obama pledged during the campaign. Speaking Dec. 8 at a forum sponsored by NASDAQ OMX Group...
The latest news on electronic medical record (EMR) penetration in physician practices can be interpreted in two different ways, depending on whether you see the glass as half empty or half full. According to a 2008 survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 38.4 percent of doctors reported they were using full or partial EMR systems, and 20.4 percent said they were using...
The healthcare-quality gurus at the Leapfrog Group have put out a new survey naming 13 hospitals they believe offer both high-quality care and cost-effective treatment. The group, which surveyed more than 1,220 hospitals (out of roughly 5,000 in the U.S.), ranked medical centers on the efficiency with which they performed four procedures: Heart bypass surgery, angioplasty, heart-attack...
Experian buys SearchAmerica to study patient creditworthiness — The credit-rating agency Experian said it will pay $90 million for SearchAmerica, a specialist in mining patients’ financial data in order to help hospitals determine whether they’re likely to pay their bills. SearchAmerica says its service is intended to help hospitals quickly register needy patients for...
- Healthcare Industry Has an Amazing Decade
- MGMA Calls For Careful Design and Testing of Meaningful Use
- Healthcare Roundup: Aetna Layoffs, Lakeside Absorbed, ASCs Rake in Profits, Retail Clinics Forecast to Grow, and More
- The House Busts The Budget By Passing a "Doc Fix"
- Grassley's Attack on Reform Belies Some Earlier Stands
- Senate's Unified Reform Bill Owes Much to Finance Committee
- White House Puts Focus On Medicare and Medicaid Fraud
- Hospitals Recovering From Recession Woes
- Doctor Shortage Is Worsening, Say Hospital CEOs
- Interest Groups Redouble Fight on Healthcare Reform
- Kerry Bill Would Help Physicians Borrow Money For EHRs
- Provider Cost Reports Have Little Impact on Consumer Choice
- Hospital Mergers Are A Major Health Cost Driver
- Comparison of Health Reform Bills Reveals Key issues
- New Mexico Information Exchange Shows Potential of Obama HIT Campaign
- More Insurance Competition Will Not Reduce Costs
- Some Health Reform Questions for The President
- Interest Groups Redouble Fight on Healthcare Reform
- NEJM Roundtable on Health Cost Control Offers Insights
- House Health-Care Reform Bill Deserves Public Support
- House Health Reform Bill Does Not Please Many in Health Care
- White House Puts Focus On Medicare and Medicaid Fraud
- No Rationing, Say Experts, But Public Doesn't Hear
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- The Rationing Debate Starts To Heat Up
- Right-Sizing The Physician Workforce
- Physicians Finally Getting Help to Become Medical Homes
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