News For: Blue Care Wa WashingtonAMA president urges broadened health care WASHINGTON -- The Buffalo physician who heads the American Medical Association came to the capital Tuesday to reignite the debate on universal health care at a time of great sickness in the American economy. Horizon Blue's Conversion to For-Profit Status May Alter Plan's Existing Pricing Strategy HealthLeaders-InterStudy, a leading provider of managed care market intelligence, reports that, if approved, conversion by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey to for-profit status may prompt the plan to adopt a more conservative approach to pricing. Blue Cross and Blue Shield recognizes two Carolinas Medical hospitals for bariatric surgery Carolinas Medical Center-NorthEast and CMC-Mercy have been named Blue Distinction Centers for Bariatric Surgery by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Asso ... Early Glance: Managed Care companies NEW YORK Shares of some top managed care companies are mixed at 10 a.m.: Aetna fell $.64 or 1.7 percent, to $36.15. CIGNA fell $.01 or percent, to $34.50. Watertown Town Council implores Blue Cross to cut ties with "No Place for Hate" Town Council unanimously adopted a resolution that Blue Cross end its endorsement of “No Place for Hate” because of the Anti-Defamation League's refusal to unambiguously acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and end its active opposition to Congressional affirmation of the Armenian Genocide. LOCAL NEWS Supporters of the Health Care for America Now coalition will assemble at 11 a.m. today outside the Excellus Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance offices at 150 N. Main St. in Elmira for a demonstration and press conference. Blue Shield of California awards $29.5M in bonuses to medical groups Blue Shield of California said Tuesday it’s awarding $29.5 million in performance bonuses to California medical groups and IPAs this year, compared with $31 million last year. Minnesota poor suffer disparity in medical care, study confirms Doctors are less likely to provide proper medical care to low-income Minnesotans enrolled in state health plans than to patients with private insurance, according to a first-of-its-kind report. Rising health care costs hitting Iowans hard Health insurance premiums in Iowa rose nearly four times as fast as wages from 2000 to 2007, according to a new report.Affordability of health insurance is diminishing rapidly in Iowa, according to the data from Families USA, a national organization for health care consumers.Average family health insurance premiums both the employee and employer share climbed 72.6 percent, or $4,707, to ... As health-care premiums rise, workers at smaller firms feel pinch Premiums for job-based health insurance are up 5 percent in 2008 and have more than doubled since 1999, a growth rate that far outpaces inflation and the increase in workers' wages over the same period, according to an annual survey of employers. Meanwhile, a growing number of workers at smaller firms are getting less coverage for their money as health plans with high deductibles and fewer ... |




