By Andis Robeznieks August 23, 2010 "Healthcare could look like this." That's the trademarked slogan used on the website for the Greater Rochester (N.Y.) Independent Practice Association. Some might argue that the slogan should be "Healthcare could look like this—if only the Greater Rochester Independent Practice Association... ... FULL STORY
By Melanie Evans May 24, 2010 One recently published estimate that said medical groups could save $7 billion if insurers all used the same claim form suggests one quick source of savings as federal officials try to squeeze health spending, says one major physician trade group. ... FULL STORY
By Rebecca Vesely March 22, 2010 Physicians are pointing to a new study published last week as further evidence that the methods health plans use to rate physicians based on cost are deeply flawed. “This is a complete sham,” says Mario Motta, M.D., a cardiologist and president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, of... ... FULL STORY
By Ed Finkel March 22, 2010 Successful physician business executives have Austin Ross to thank for their financial acumen. The famed medical administrator and educator was one of the first to recognize the need to teach basic business and management skills to doctors. Ross was inducted this month into the Health Care Hall of... ... FULL STORY
May 26, 2009 Added up, new research calculates that a physician may spend nearly three weeks a year on health plan-related tasks. While how much of a medical practice’s administrative overhead can be classified as “waste” is still open to debate, two new Health Affairs reports attempted to put a price... ... FULL STORY
By Gregg Blesch April 27, 2009 A new Federal Trade Commission advisory opinion may offer the best guide so far to independent docs who want to integrate clinically and negotiate collectively with payers without running afoul of antitrust law, an area in which the commission has rejected providers’ pleas for explicit guidance. ... FULL STORY
By Andis Robeznieks March 23, 2009 If its campaign to get the healthcare industry to use the same swipe-card or bar-code technology that other industries have been using for decades is successful, the Medical Group Management Association calculates that it will knock about $1 billion off the nation’s healthcare bill each year. ... FULL STORY
March 09, 2009 The U.S. Supreme Court killed the all-but-dead hopes of many rooting for a Texas physician association that fought the Federal Trade Commission’s conclusion that its role in coordinating contract offers between members and payers amounted to illegal price-fixing. ... FULL STORY
January 12, 2009 The American Medical Association recently complained to a House committee that the government “casts an overly suspicious eye on physician collaboration through network arrangements.” The Federal Trade Commission late last month signaled yet again that it’s suspicious indeed. ... FULL STORY
July 07, 2008 The board of directors of America’s Health Insurance Plans said that it will advance a medical-home model that emphasizes comprehensive care tailored to individual needs, care coordination among providers, adoption of health IT, and outcome measures to improve quality and affordability of care. ... FULL STORY
June 09, 2008 With a fresh federal appeals court victory on the subject, the Federal Trade Commission is exploring how the benefits of clinical integration among providers weigh against the government’s obligation to bust collaboration that crosses antitrust lines. ... FULL STORY
By Barbara Kirchheimer May 19, 2008 A report, The Hazards of Harassing Doctors: Regulation and Reaction in Trans-Atlantic Healthcare, released in March by the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, lambastes evidence-based medicine—and “guideline-driven” medicine in general—as harmful to patients' well-being, medical... ... FULL STORY
May 05, 2008 Providers are cautiously optimistic that an accord announced last month will lead to more fair and uniform standards on how physicians are ranked by health plans. ... FULL STORY
By Jay Greene April 21, 2008 By cutting out the “big daddy HMOs” from their profitable middleman position in Medicare Advantage plans, Charles Willey, M.D., chief medical officer with Essence Healthcare, says he believes physicians can provide higher quality care to seniors at lower costs. “We have the richest benefit for... ... FULL STORY
By Jay Greene with Gregg Blesch February 19, 2008 Six Houston-area health insurers received poor marks on a physician satisfaction survey. Respondents say the companies have failed patients, employers and doctors on patient-care, payment and customer service issues. “I was surprised how bad it is. All insurers were rated very low by doctors in... ... FULL STORY
December 03, 2007 Six leading insurers have reached agreements with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo on physician-ranking programs, in an arrangement that could serve as a framework nationally. ... FULL STORY
By Jay Greene October 01, 2007 A group of physicians in Florida have banded together to acquire and operate a Medicare HMO that they hope will be user-friendly for physicians and patients and at the same time manage care effectively and efficiently. Heard it before? Physicians providing high-quality care to patients while... ... FULL STORY
By Gregg Blesch August 06, 2007 Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan recently hit two neighboring east-central Illinois physicians groups with an antitrust lawsuit alleging they conspired to boycott new Medicaid patients, intending to squeeze the state for higher and faster payments. The lawsuit against Christie Clinic and... ... FULL STORY
By Cinda Becker March 23, 2007 Revised Census Bureau figures show that in 2005, 44.8 million people, or 15.3% of the population, were without health insurance—about 1.8 million fewer than the bureau reported in August 2006. ... FULL STORY
By Laura B. Benko March 23, 2007 Blue Cross of California was fined $1 million for violating state law by systematically dropping policyholders after they became sick or pregnant. ... FULL STORY
By Cinda Becker March 22, 2007 Health insurance does not provide a guarantee against financial jeopardy in the event of sickness or injury, according to a new report ... FULL STORY
By Matthew DoBias March 22, 2007 Federal lawmakers were joined Wednesday on Capitol Hill by representatives of hospitals and other healthcare providers in opposition to a proposed $4 billion cut in Medicaid payments that they said would be detrimental to safety net hospitals and which would limit care to the... ... FULL STORY
By Laura B. Benko March 21, 2007 Massachusetts residents and businesses would have an additional 18 months to upgrade their health insurance to meet the more stringent coverage levels required under the state’s new universal healthcare law, according to preliminary regulations approved Tuesday. ... FULL STORY
By Jennifer Lubell March 21, 2007 Senate Democrats at a news conference Wednesday called on the full Senate to provide additional funds to renew and expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. ... FULL STORY
By David Burda March 19, 2007 The American Hospital Association’s national healthcare reform plan—expected to be released this summer—will call for universal coverage for all Americans, according to a draft of the plan detailed by AHA President Richard Umbdenstock. He described the plan in a video... ... FULL STORY
By Matthew DoBias March 16, 2007 Reps. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) and Phil English (R-Pa.), along with 220 other House Democrats and Republicans, have signed on to a letter urging the House Budget Committee not to cut Medicare and Medicaid funding as it puts together its budget resolution next week. ... FULL STORY
By Jennifer Lubell March 15, 2007 The fiscal 2008 budget resolution approved today by the Senate Budget Committee includes $50 billion to fund the State Children’s Health Insurance Program above its baseline over five years. The current funding level for SCHIP is $25 billion over five years. ... FULL STORY
By Matthew DoBias March 15, 2007 Richard Frank, vice chairman of the Citizens’ Health Care Working Group, said he is disappointed in the White House’s near-wholesale dismissal of the group’s recommendations and that overall, he thinks the administration gave the report short shrift. "It... ... FULL STORY
By Jennifer Lubell March 14, 2007 Lawmakers in the House and Senate have proposed legislation that would provide incentives for states to expand children’s healthcare and help enroll uninsured children who qualify for public coverage. ... FULL STORY
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