health insurance
Meet the MIB – that’s Medical Insurance Board, not Men in Black
With all the talk of health insurance reform, including much reference to pre-existing conditions, and rules on when coverage may be canceled by an insurer, it’s natural to wonder exactly who is “in charge” of all that information. The answer? The MIB, that stands for Medical Insurance Board, and they’re a membership organization owned by […]
Read moreEnd of an Era: St. Vincent’s Hospital Closes
For 160 years, St Vincent’s hospital in New York City was a stalwart figure in the world of healthcare. Today, the Greenwich Village hospital closed its doors forever. St. Vincent’s was founded in 1849, and served as the flagship of St. Vincent’s Catholic Medical Centers of New York, and recorded $502 million in total revenue […]
Read moreHospital Cost Shifting Not a New Trend
Recent confirmed reports of an alarming change within the hospital industry, one that has been going on since long before the passage of the healthcare reform bill last month: Because they get lower reimbursements from public health insurance services like Medicaid and Medicare, many hospitals are trying to find new ways of making money, and […]
Read moreInsurers ReClassify Admin Expenses as Medical Expenses to Circumvent New Regs
The deadline for doing so isn’t until the first of next year, but already some of America’s largest health insurance companies are changing their accounting to reclassify administration costs as medical expenses, in order to work around industry reforms mandated by the recently-passed health care overhaul, says news agency Reuters, reporting on a U.S. Senate […]
Read moreDrinkers Exercise More than Non-Drinkers, Study Says
It’s no secret that healthy habits help you save money on health insurance, but did you know that that alcohol consumption is linked to those habits in ways most of us never considered? There have been several clinical studies of the way alcohol consumption affects health, and one of them found that people who regularly […]
Read moreHouse Approves Companion Bill to Healthcare Overhaul
Days after passing the healthcare overhaul bill that took the better part of a year to hammer out, the United States House of Representatives approved the companion package yesterday. The companion package had already been approved by the House before, but after the vote on the main bill, the Senate parliamentarian ordered two minor provisions […]
Read moreMissouri Court Issues Ruling in Medical Malpractice Case
Two days ago, the Missouri Supreme Court made a ruling that narrowed the scope of a 2005 state law that limits the amount of money that may be awarded in medical malpractice cases has slightly narrowed the scope of a 2005 state law limiting how much money can be awarded to people in medical malpractice […]
Read moreHealthcare Bill Passes
Late Sunday night, the United States House of Representatives passed the much-debated healthcare reform bill in a 219-212 vote, with all the Republicans, and thirty-four Democrats, voting against its passage. The bill, which instigates the most dramatic changes to our healthcare system in four decades, now goes to President Obama for his signature, which will […]
Read moreStates Attempt to Counter HealthCare Reform via Bills and Constitutional Amendments
Reuters is reporting that at least 36 state legislatures have introduced bills or resolutions designed to either limit or oppose various aspects of the healhcare reform plan that Congress is still trying to pass. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, momentum is growing in many states to block the changes either by laws […]
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