Medicare Plans to Pay Doctors for Counseling on End of Life

Medicare, the federal program that insures 55 million older and disabled Americans, announced plans on Wednesday to reimburse doctors for conversations with patients about whether and how they would want to be kept alive if they became too sick to speak for themselves.

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Out-of-Pocket Health Costs Rose Slightly Last Year

Out-of-pocket healthcare costs have increased modestly over the last year, according to a new study – a sign that prices are not skyrocketing under ObamaCare as some critics had predicted.

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Blitz Against ObamaCare ‘Cadillac Tax’ Launches

A coalition of K Street health giants are teaming up to fight the ObamaCare tax on high-cost insurance plans known as the “Cadillac tax."

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Medi-Cal Beneficiaries See Gaps In Access to Health Care

Medi-Cal beneficiaries face "significant" gaps in access to care compared with individuals who are enrolled in employer-sponsored health plans, according to a study published by the California HealthCare Foundation, Payers & Providers reports. CHCF publishes California Healthline.

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Uninsured Rate Hits Lowest Level to Date, Boosting ObamaCare

The uninsured rate has dropped to its lowest level since Gallup began tracking the statistic in 2008.

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States Line Up To Scrutinize Aetna’s $33 Billion Humana Deal

U.S. insurance regulators and state attorneys general are lining up to scrutinize Aetna Inc's proposed $33 billion takeover of rival Humana Inc for potential harm to consumers, complicating what is already expected to be a tough and lengthy review by federal antitrust authorities.

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Health Insurer Mergers Will Pressure Pharma Over High-Cost Drugs

As the nation’s biggest health insurers jockey for supremacy, drug makers should brace for added pressure because doctors are likely to face stingier reimbursement over the next few years.

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Assembly To Consider Bill Capping Out-of-Pocket Rx Drug Costs

The Assembly this month will consider a bill (AB 339) that aims to cap out-of-pocket costs for prescription medications, Modern Healthcare reports

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After Health Care Act, Sharp Drop in Spending on Birth Control

Out-of-pocket spending on most major birth control methods fell sharply in the months after the Affordable Care Act began requiring insurance plans to cover contraception at no cost to women, a new study has found.

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Medicare Proposes to Pay Doctors to Have End-of-Life Care Discussions

Federal health officials are proposing that Medicare begin paying doctors to discuss end-of-life issues with their patients, six years after the “death panel” controversy erupted in the early days of the debate over President Obama’s health-care legislation.

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