Maryland’s Bold Hospital Spending Plan Gets Federal Blessing
Maryland hospitals have agreed to new spending limits and big changes in the way they are paid, creating what could be a national model.
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Jay Hancock was a senior correspondent for ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø News until he retired in Feburary 2022.
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Maryland hospitals have agreed to new spending limits and big changes in the way they are paid, creating what could be a national model.
A new study takes the closest look yet at the relationship between Medigap coverage and Medicare spending.
Health law backers have stepped up efforts to persuade people aged 18 to their mid-30s to give Obamacare a chance. Reaching this demographic group is viewed by many as one of the overhaul's biggest challenges.
Rule changes and deadline shifts have complicated the efforts of health insurance companies to prepare for a wave of new customers and "post-enrollment snafus."
Criticism of limited provider networks is emerging in at least a half a dozen states as consumers realize that their Affordable Care Act insurance may not include the physicians or hospitals they've been seeing.
Wellpoint and other insurers face a new set of decisions as a result of the Obama administration's proposed "fix," which would allow them to renew individual plans that don't include all the benefits required by the overhaul.
Under the president's plan, insurers will be permitted to extend this year's policies into next year, but it's far from clear that insurers will want to follow through. Some state regulators may not even let them.
Numbers released by the government Wednesday deepened doubts about the law's immediate viability, and proposed fixes have shortcomings.
Unions want their plans exempted from the reinsurance tax, but the Obama administration may not do so until 2015.
The health law is being blamed for policy cancellations and replacement rate shock. But in Alabama, some say a lack of competition among insurance companies is a big part of the problem.
Insurance companies confirm a small number of successful signups through the federal website.
The federal health insurance marketplace continued to frustrate consumers Wednesday with delays and software failures, but some people also reported progress.
The online marketplaces, also known as exchanges, sell plans effective as soon as Jan. 1. But they got a rocky launch, with software glitches in some cases and implementation delays in others.
Among the insights: Competition lowers prices, options vary widely by location, and insurers think consumers prefer low premiums to low copays and deductibles.
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