It may be spring outside, but HealthCare.gov seems to be ice cold. Fewer than 70,000 people have signed up for health insurance on that federal marketplace during a tax-season grace period that began March 15 and has just 10 days left to go, officials revealed Monday. If that paltry response doesn’t improve soon, millions of ...
Despite the government’s push to make health information more available, few people use concrete information about doctors or hospitals to obtain better care at lower prices, according to a poll released Tuesday. Prices for the health care industry have historically been concealed and convoluted, unlike those for most other businesses. The 2010 health law aimed ...
On Thursday, CMS released a proposed rule that would extend federal funding for state Medicaid eligibility and enrollment systems, Modern Healthcare reports. Background In 2011, CMS increased the federal matching rate for state Medicaid eligibility and enrollment systems from: 50% to 90% for money spent on building such systems; and 50% to 75% for money ...
On Friday, CMS issued its inpatient prospective payment system proposed rule for fiscal year 2016, MedPage Today reports (Frieden, MedPage Today, 4/18). The proposed rule — which would affect about 3,400 acute-care facilities — adjusts for things such as productivity improvement, coding changes and market conditions in the region in which the hospital is located (CMS fact sheet, ...
A California Senate Health Committee voted 7-0 Wednesday to expand health care coverage for all Californians, regardless of their immigration status. The bill by Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, would expand Medi-Cal eligibility for immigrants here illegally who are income-eligible. It is one of 10 bills that aims to expand the rights of people who ...
Covered California’s small employer insurance program is growing, but a private-sector competitor is growing faster. CaliforniaChoice has 12,070 employers in its program and 218,648 enrollees. That’s up from 11,500 employers and 150,000 members last August. By comparison, Covered California has 2,289 employers and 15,633 enrollees, up from 1,7000 employers and 11,500 members in August. Both ...