Some health insurers are hoping to ease headaches that can flare when customers try to confirm whether a doctor is covered in a plan’s network of providers.
The trade association America’s Health Insurance Plans will soon start testing a more efficient way to update insurer provider directories, which are becoming critical for finding the right fit as insurance evolves and coverage networks shrink. Continue reading
Short-acting opioid painkillers will carry strong new warnings under U.S. Food and Drug Administration requirements announced on Tuesday that will bring information about addiction and abuse in line with that on long-acting pills.
The FDA’s action comes a week after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended doctors prescribe non-opioids, including acetaminophen and ibuprofen, for patients with pain unless they have active cancer or are receiving end-of-life care. Continue reading
WASHINGTON — There’s growing evidence that most of the dramatic gain in the number of Americans with health care coverage is due to President Barack Obama’s law, and not the gradual recovery of the nation’s economy.
That could pose a political risk for Republicans running against “Obamacare” in the GOP primaries as they shift to the general election later this year. While the health care law remains highly unpopular in the party, the prospect of taking away health care coverage from millions of people could trigger a backlash if the eventual GOP nominee’s plan to replace it is seen as coming up short. Continue reading
Employers will have plenty of time to comply with upcoming regulatory changes to the annual summary of health care benefits and coverages they must distribute to employees, according to a U.S. Department of Labor notice.
In a notice issued last week, the Labor Department said the new SBCs will not have to be distributed until the first day of the first plan year that begins on or after April 1, 2017.
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BOSTON — A course of treatment is sometimes decided before an injured worker is even diagnosed, a speaker said during the Workers Compensation Research Institute’s 2016 Annual Issues and Research Conference in Boston. Continue reading
Of those 12.7 million enrollees, 9.6 million selected coverage in the 38 states in which coverage is offered through the federal exchange, while 3.1 million selected coverage in the 13 states, including the District of Columbia who have their own exchanges. About 11.4 million people signed up for coverage in the public exchanges in the 2015 open enrollment season. Continue reading
Wage insurance may not be on your radar, but it should be. It helps people who have lost their jobs and cannot find new ones that pay as well. That assistance can reduce economic inequality while providing incentives for unemployed people to go back to work quickly. Continue reading
The international HERO Health and Well-being Best Practices Scorecard in Collaboration with Mercer allows employers to evaluate their workplace health initiatives with an inventory of current best practices compiled by industry leaders, the organizations said Monday in a joint statement.
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